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SERMONS 



JOHN JACKSON. 



PHONOGRAPHICALLY REPORTED. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

T. ELLWOOD CHAPMAN. 

No. 1 South Fifth Street. 

1851. 



SERMONS. 



SERMON I. 

DELIVERED AT FRIENDS' MEETING, LOMBARD STREET, BALT1- 
MORE, ON FOURTH DAY, TENTH MONTH 27th, 1847, DURING THE 
WEEK OF THE YEARLY MEETING. 

" My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me. 
If any man will do His will, he shall know of the 
doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of 
myself." 

The doctrine of Jesus Christ has ever been distin- 
guished from the various counterfeit productions that 
have assumed the name of religion, by its great sim- 
plicity, by the universality of its nature, by its com- 
plete adaptation to the spiritual wants of man, and 
by the influence it exerts upon human conduct and 
character. We have cause to admire, with feelings 
of gratitude, the wisdom of our heavenly Father, in 
that he has not made his doctrine and religion depend 
on the fluctuations of human opinion, but has esta- 
blished them on the firm foundation of eternal and 
unchanging truth. Neither has he made us dependent 
one upon another for a knowledge thereof, but has 
condescended to be the teacher of his people himself. 

When the blessed Jesus entered on his gospel mis- 
sion, he had no new doctrine to preach, no specula- 
tive opinions of his own to promulgate, but simply to 



4 SERMONS BY 

" bear witness to the truth."— Truth as it originated 
with its author, and which is the same in all ages. 
Hence he called others to do the will of God, declar- 
ing that if any man will do his will, " he shall know 
of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I 
speak of myself." The religion of Jesus Christ is, 
therefore, the same in all ages. It is not one thing in 
the days of Moses, and another in the days of Jesus of 
Nazareth. 

Although Paul or Peter, Wickliffe, Luther, Calvin, 
or Fox, and numerous others who have sustained the 
character of reformers, may all have labored in their 
proper sphere, and fulfilled the work, that the times 
in which they lived demanded, yet Christianity has 
never changed its character. Its doctrines and obli- 
gations have not altered, but they have been, and still 
continue to be, revealed to all the nations and families 
of the earth. We are forced to this conclusion unless 
we admit that God is partial and unequal in his ways, 
and that he has favoured a portion of mankind with 
a knowledge of his will, and excluded all the rest of 
his rational family from the enjoyment of his pre- 
sence, his goodness and his regard. We must believe 
it if we admit the doctrine that Christ is manifested 
in the flesh — for wherever Christ is, there the obliga- 
tions of the Divine will are made known. 

We do not limit the coming of Christ in the flesh, 
to its appearance in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. 
Christ, that divine and spiritual illumination described 
by the evangelist, as the " Word that was in the be- 
ginning," and by which the worlds were made, did not 
for the first time make its appearance when the spirit 
descended upon Jesus. The same word had spoken 



JOHN JACKSON. 5 

to Adam in the garden, it had reproved the first 
transgressor — it enabled Enoch to " walk with God" 
— it pointed out to Abraham the glory of the gospel 
day; it instructed the understanding of the prophets; 
spoke to Samuel in Shiloh ; it was the " Rock that 
followed Israel." The evangelist speaks of it as the 
" true light, that lighteth every man that cometh into 
the world ;" and the apostle calls it " the power of 
God and the wisdom of God." 

It is also revealed to us ; and it is just in proportion 
as we become the subjects of its government and in- 
fluence that we become " heirs of God, and joint heirs 
with Christ." It is this union that makes us Chris- 
tians and partakers of the Divine nature, one w r ith 
Christ and God ; and it is vain for us to call ourselves 
Christians or followers of Christ, if we have not been 
made possessors of his spirit ; for, says the apostle, 
* If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none 
of his." 

The teaching and guidance of this Divine power, 
and wisdom Christ, is what we call inward, imme- 
diate, and Divine revelation — a revelation that is not 
limited to time or confined within the narrow bounds 
of sects, but has " appeared unto all men teaching 
them to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and 
to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present 
world." 

We have abundant evidence that such a revelation 
is universal, and adapted to the wants of man in his 
pursuit of heaven and happiness. In the Scriptures 
we find a great amount of testimony showing that 
the men of former generations acknowledged an im- 

1# 



,. SERMON'S BY 

mediate revelation of the Divine will to man, and we 
profess to believe that holy men of old wrote as they 
were inspired by the Holy Ghost. The writings of 
the Scriptures are, however, chiefly confined to the 
history of a single nation of people; but there are, 
nevertheless, to be found among the records and tra- 
ditions of almost every nation, traces of a belief in the 
existence of a Supreme Being, and of an immediate 
revelation of his will to mankind. Those records or 
traditions were ever found, so far as they go to illus- 
trate the universality of the goodness of God, and of his 
dealings with man, are of equal weight and authority 
with the Jewish Scriptures and ought to be so regarded. 
Inspiration was not confined to the authors of the 
Bible, neither does it follow as a matter of course, 
that every thing which is found in the Bible was 
written by Divine inspiration. We find in the writ- 
ings of many of the ancients, whose history is not 
contained in that book, declarations of a belief in 
Divine revelation, showing that it was not limited to 
any single class or nation, and the universal testi- 
mony of human experience in all times, proves, that 
God has not left himself without a witness in the 
souls of his accountable children. 

Well, my friends, we have access to the same in- 
spiration which has always influenced the minds of 
the righteous, and that too, without any human aid 
or instrumentality. We are not dependent upon men 
or books for it. We have as much evidence that the 
unlettered North American Indian, who has never 
seen the Scriptures, nor heard the gospel outwardly 
preached, believes in and understands Divine revela- 
tion, as certainly as did the prophets of old, or any of 



JOHN JACKSON. 



the Scripture writers. He speaks of the voice of 
the "Great Spirit" taking cognizance of his thoughts 
and actions, and leading him to a life of purity and 
holiness. It matters not whether we have ever heard 
the name of Jesus outwardly named, or have ever 
seen the Scriptures, for such is the goodness of our 
heavenly Father, that he has adapted his dispensa- 
tions of grace to meet our spiritual wants, under all 
the various circumstances in which man may be 
placed. 

In all spiritual matters, in things pertaining to sal- 
vation, this Divine illumination is our surest guide; a 
teacher that can never deceive us, but will, as we 
obey it, lead us out of all error into the knowledge 
of the truth. It is this that opens to man the path of 
duty and convicts him for transgression; while it 
reproves him for doing evil it blesses him for doing 
good. 

The duties it enjoins are the same in all ages. It 
leads but to one point, and that is the practice of the 
religion of Jesus Christ. Christianity being a Divine 
revelation does not change; its doctrines are the 
same in all ages ; we are as much bound to regulate 
our conduct by it as the men of past generations, for 
it remains to be its peculiar nature, to exert a blessed 
influence upon human conduct and practice. 

Christianity owns no mysteries, it is plain and sim- 
ple, easy to be understood. We must learn to dis- 
tinguish between genuine Christianity and everything 
of an opposite character that bears its name; we must 
judge it, and know it by its fruits. We shall find it 
does not consist so much in opinion and profession 



g SERMONS BY 

as in faith and practice. It does not stand in the ob- 
servance of external forms, but in daily practical 
righteousness. Neither does it depend so much on 
unity of opinion as in doing the will of our Creator. 
It embraces every good work of benevolence, leads 
its possessors to "visit the fatherless and the widow 
in their afflictions, and keep themselves unspotted 
from the world." 

Such was the religion taught by Jesus of Nazareth; 
not as something that was new, and unknown before 
his time, for he came not to teach any new doctrine, 
as is evident from his own declaration : " My doc- 
trine is not mine, but his that sent me." When the 
blessed Jesus was queried of after this manner: 
" Master, which is the greatest commandment in the 
law?" he said to the inquirer, " Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and 
great commandment. And the second is like unto 
it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these 
two commandments hang all the law and the pro- 
phets." This doctrine, therefore, was not new, it 
was equally as true in the days of Moses as of Jesus. 
These ever have been, and ever will be the unchange- 
able requisitions of the Divine law, and every rational 
being who has ever been on the stage of action, or 
that ever will be on the stage of action, has been 
under and will be under the obligation to regulate his 
conduct by them. 

It would be utterly at variance with w T hat w r e 
know of the character of Deity, to suppose that he 
would proclaim to one class of mankind such laws 



JOHN JACKSON. 



as, " Thou shalt love thy Creator, thou shalt love thy 
neighbour;" and to another class, thou shalt hate thy 
Creator, thou shalt hate thy fellow-creature. 

To love God, and to love man, embraces the whole 
of the Christian religion. These are among the unal- 
terable commands of Jehovah; obedience to which 
uniformly produces order, harmony and happiness. 
While on the other hand disobedience to them is fol- 
lowed by contention, by anarchy and confusion, and 
by all the evils which render existence a curse in- 
stead of a blessing. We shall find, if we investigate 
the subject, that happiness can only be secured by 
fulfilling these laws of our being, and that our failure 
to enjoy it is the consequence of our own rebellion. 

Now we find that Jesus, our blessed example, ful- 
filled this law of love ; both by precept and example 
he endeavoured to enforce it. He reproved the Jews 
for their conduct; he held up to their view the perfect 
rule of morality, the law of God, from which they 
could easily see that every opposite rule of conduct 
which they had learned from tradition was imperfect 
and of human origin. 

" Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for 
an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you 
that ye resist not evil ; but whosoever shall smite thee 
on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." 

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt 
love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy; but I say 
unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse 
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for 
them that persecute you and despitefully use you; 
that ye may be the children of your Father which is 



JO SERMONS BY 

in heaven ; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil 
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and 
the unjust." 

Here then are the essential duties of religion. It 
matters not what we profess, or however diversified 
may be our speculative theology, or however various 
the forms under which we may apprehend it right to 
worship our Maker, still we must all fulfil these com- 
mands if we answer the end of our being. But un- 
happily for the professing Christian church, opinions 
and external observances are considered of more im- 
portance to the popular theology than loving God 
and loving man. A religion is propagated which 
does not consist in the fulfilment of these higher 
duties, and hence it does not exert that influence on 
the conduct of men which Christianity is intended to 
produce. 

And yet we see how much contention and strife 
there are in the world on this subject; how the visible 
church has become divided into sects and parties, and 
what a spirit of bitterness is engendered between man 
and his fellow. The law of love leads us to regard 
all men as our brethren, no matter how widely they 
may differ in opinion from us, or from each other, or 
however various the forms under which they attempt 
to worship the same God. It does not lead any into 
contention and strife, but requires us to do those duties 
of loving God and loving man, which puts an end to 
all sectarian bitterness, ft" lays the axe at the root 
of the corrupt tree." 

If love were the ruling principle of human con- 
duct, all strife and controversy about religious opi- 



JOHN JACKSON. J [ 

nions would cease; society would unite in every work 
of human improvement; superstition and error would 
vanish; truth would reign triumphantly; falsehood, vio- 
lence and oppression of every kind would be unknown. 

These are the views I entertain of the nature of the 
Christian religion, and this the influence which I be- 
lieve it exerts upon human conduct and character. 
This is the only religion which I would recommend 
to us all. It is calculated to better the condition of 
man. It is as wisely adapted to his spiritual wants 
as to the regulation of his conduct. It is a religion 
that purifies the soul and makes it a temple for the 
Holy One to dwell in. It disarms death of its sting, 
and the grave of its victory; and while it contributes 
to the enjoyment of this present life, it furnishes us 
with a well-grounded hope, that when done with time, 
we shall have " a building in God, a house not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens." This must be 
so, if the Scripture declaration is true, which says, 
"God is love, and they that dwell in love dwell in 
God, and God dwelleth in them." 

This then is the path in which Christ leads his fol- 
lowers. Man is created in a state of perfect inno- 
cence; by making Christ his guide, he is enabled, 
while passing through a state of probation, to rise 
from this condition of negative innocence to a state 
of active and positive virtue — for virtue is the resis- 
tance of temptation. As Jesus resisted temptation 
and thereby overcame the world, so may we also 
overcome the world in the same manner, for we must 
walk by the same rule and mind the same thing. 
Besides this, there is no other means of salvation. 



j 2 SERMONS BY 

Whatever speculations may be entertained on this 
subject, or whatever schemes of salvation man may 
embrace, his deliverance from the bondage of sin can 
only be affected by his being made a partaker of the 
Christ-like nature, and that must be like the spirit of 
Christ ruling in him and regulating his every-day ac- 
tions, filling his soul with love to God and love to his 
fellow-creatures. 

I am aw T are that these views of the doctrine and 
religion of Christ form but little part of popular the- 
ology. They are not considered of as much import- 
ance as a belief in particular creeds and doctrines of 
men. The doctrine of Divine revelation is partially, 
if not wholly denied by those who through the pre- 
judices of education, are looking to men and books 
for the knowledge of Divine things, and who pre- 
sumptuously assert, that immediate revelation was 
confined to holy men of old, and that it ceased when 
the last Scripture writer laid down his pen. 

Good works are lightly esteemed or viewed as of 
secondary importance to man's present and eternal 
welfare, while the religious world seem almost en- 
tirely occupied in doubtful disputations, and endless 
controversies about speculative opinions. 

The popular religion lays but little restraint on the 
every day conduct of men, in fact, it tolerates many 
iniquitous practices. By its fruits, it is easily dis- 
tinguished from "pure and undefiled religion." When, 
therefore, we see that the popular profession of reli- 
gion does not redeem men from the indulgence of 
hurtful passions, does not make them Christ-like, does 
not lead them to love God and one another, but lends 



JOHN JACKSON. 13 

its sanction and influence to the grossest irregularities 
of human conduct, and even to the commission of 
crime, it is well for us to examine, whether if such a 
religion be ours we are not deceiving ourselves, and 
making our hope the hope of the hypocrite, which it 
is said shall perish. Look over professing Christen- 
dom, and let us see what kind of fruits are produced. 
Let us not be deceived, " God is not mocked, such as 
we sow, such shall we reap." Look over our own 
land, and let us see whether the great profession of 
religion which is made among us, manifesting itself 
by revivals, by church-going, by Sabbath-keeping, by 
a concern for the salvation of the heathen, and the 
ceremonious observance of religious forms, is likely 
to better our condition, and make us what we should 
be, considering how much we have been blessed 
among the families of the earth, "a people fearing 
God and hating covetousness." 

We see that war, with all the evils and miseries 
that follow in its train, is encouraged in our midst ; 
the spirit of war, which is directly the opposite of the 
non-resistant and peaceable spirit of Jesus, is applaud- 
ed on every side. " By their fruits ye shall know them.' 
Christianity requires us to love our enemies — to re- 
sist not evil. But according to the popular notions 
of religion, the warrior may return from the field of 
carnage, with the sword just drawn from the bosom 
of his brother, with his garments dyed in blood, and 
his hands polluted by the commission of crime, and 
still he is called a follower of Him, who said, " My 
kingdom is not of this world, else would my servants 

fight." 

2 



14 



SERMONS BY 



War is a violation of the divine law, its continu- 
ance is the effect of gross moral delusion, and yet we 
see how it is encouraged by the professors of reli- 
gion. It would seem that they do not more firmly 
believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, than 
that they believe He leads conquering armies to 
victory. 

The name of the Sovereign of the Universe is con- 
nected with the scenes of human carnage, and his 
attributes of love and mercy, are supposed to sanction 
" Every battle of the warrior, which is with confused 
noise and garments rolled in blood." 

Men calling themselves ministers of Christ are en- 
listed on either side imploring the aid of one common 
Father, to inspire them with strength and courage to 
slaughter each other. In almost every pulpit, prayers 
are offered up on the occasion of victories obtained 
in the field of carnage and blood. 

Can we believe for a moment that the infinite and 
unchangeable God, whose holiest attributes are good- 
ness, mercy and love, would suspend his eternal laws, 
and abandon his moral government, for the purpose 
of allowing his accountable children to kill and de- 
stroy each other? Certainly not. 

I feel myself called upon to hold up to view in this 
plain manner, the inconsistency of our practice with 
our profession, when we tolerate and justify war on 
the one hand, and call ourselves the followers of Jesus 
Christ on the other. There is no truth more easy of 
demonstration, than that the warrior is the servant of 
antichrist; for it must be admitted, that the practice 



JOHN JACKSON. J 5 

of war is utterly incompatible with the practice of 
Christianity, and whatever is incompatible with the 
practice of Christianity is contrary to the will of God. 

There may be advocates of war in this assembly, 
who are almost offended at the preaching of doctrine 
like this. I would have them to examine the ground 
on which they stand, and remember that they have 
as good reason to be offended at the precepts and ex- 
ample of Jesus. We find that he reproved the Jews 
for their evil conduct, when he told them, " Ye have 
heard it hath been said by them of old time, thou shalt 
love thy neighbour and hate thy enemy; but I say 
unto you love your enemies, do good to them that 
hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you 
and persecute you, that you may be the children of 
your Father who is in heaven, for he maketh his sun 
to shine on the good and evil, and sendeth his rain on 
the just and the unjust." This remains to be the doc- 
trine of Christ ; " love your enemies" is a positive 
Christian precept. Does the warrior regulate his 
conduct by this rule ? If he did, the " sword would 
be beaten unto a ploughshare, and the spear into a 
pruning hook, nation would no longer lift up sword 
against nation, neither would men learn war any 
more." If he does not practice by this rule, he is 
the servant of antichrist. 

I have no hope that wars and fightings will cease, 
until the benign influence of this doctrine shall dispel 
the delusions which envelope the minds of men, and 
in the same proportion that this doctrine is embraced 
we come to see that " God is love," and that it is 



2(5 SERMONS BY 

only those whose conduct is regulated by the law of 
love, that can have fellowship with him. 

It is indeed a sorrowful reflection, that war is now 
sustained and encouraged by many of the highest 
professors of the Christian religion in our land ! 
While many of these are looking with indifference on 
its dreadful ravages, hastening thousands of our 
fellow men unprepared into eternity, the cries of the 
pitiless orphan, the widow and the fatherless, are 
protesting against these outrages on humanity, and 
uttering this solemn appeal, " Shall the sword devour 
forever V* 

The doctrine of Christ leads us to visit the father- 
less and the widow in their afflictions, but it never 
sanctioned a practice which fills the earth with 
mourning, lamentation and woe; and let us not forget 
that every one who gives encouragement to war, is 
implicated in the continuance of a custom which does 
violence continually to the laws of God, and the doc- 
trine and practice of Jesus Christ. 

So long as the sword continues to devour, the 
views I entertain of the doctrine of Christ, and the 
conviction of duty which I feel, will lead me to bear 
a testimony against wars and fightings, until this frail 
tabernacle shall go to its last resting place, and this 
voice be forever silenced in the stillness of death. 

11 Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be 
called the children of God." May this number be 
multiplied — let them be faithful to truth and duty, and 
they may yet be instrumental under the divine bless- 
ing, in advancing the peaceable kingdom of Christ, 
and in hastening the coming of that day, when every 



JOHN JACKSON. ]7 

practice of violence and wrong shall be banished 
from the earth forever. My faith is in the principles 
of Christianity. These never have sanctioned and 
never can saction the practice of war, or any of its 
kindred evils : when these principles shall govern the 
conduct of mankind, war and all its evils must come 
to an end. It is folly for any to say that Christianity 
sanctions war, because by the triumph of Christianity, 
it will be abolished and cease forever. 

My young friends, I would call your attention to 
these doctrines of Christ. I wish to encourage you 
to embrace them. This is a holy cause for you to 
embark in, attend strictly to the convictions of truth 
in your own minds, this will open the path of duty, 
and show you a field of labour in which there is 
ample room for the exercise and improvement of the 
talents and gifts w T hich God has committed to your 
care. 

Let the wise counsel of one formerly have its due 
weight: si Remember now thy Creator in the days of 
thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the 
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no 
pleasure in them." 

Our happiness is intimately connected with the 
remembrance of our Creator. He has brought us 
into being for a good and noble purpose, and we 
should endeavour to associate the idea of his exist- 
ence and presence, with all the duties and concerns 
of this life. I know of no reason why we should live 
in forgetfulness of God, but on the other hand I see 
much to make us better and happier by the remem- 
brance of our Creator. 

2* 



,o SERMONS BY 

The religion of Christ is not intended to throw a 
gloomy aspect over the scenes and prospects of life — 
it inflicts no heavy burdens, but continually holds out 
the cheering language, " Come unto me, all ye that 
are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest; 
take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am 
meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest to 
your souls ; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is 
light." 

Think not that this religion to which I now invite 
you, stands in the opinions or speculative theories of 
men. It is not the observance of outward forms and 
ceremonies, but it consists in having your conduct 
regulated by the great principles of love to God and 
love to man. It is not confined in its exercise to 
days and times, it is not limited in the performance 
of our devotions in churches or in meeting houses, 
but it is an every day work, producing the fruits of 
benevolence, justice, mercy and love. 

Such a religion must, from the influence it has upon 
human conduct, and from its own nature, bless you 
and make you happier in time, as well as prepare you 
to enjoy a blessed immortality. We feel a reward 
in being good, and doing good, which is a foretaste 
of heaven on this side of the grave. Our own experi- 
ence tells us, that while " the way of the transgressor 
is hard," the path of the just " shineth brighter and 
brighter unto the perfect day." 

We have no need to regard the cry of" lo, here is 
Christ, or lo, he is there ;" we have access to the 
same fountain of truth and inspiration, which has led 
the righteous of all ages, among all people. Here is 



JOHN JACKSON. 19 

a teacher always at hand, and one^that can never de- 
ceive us. Its gentle whisperings are heard within, 
and it only requires watchfulness on our part to un- 
derstand its admonitions. 

With these views and convictions, I should no 
more think of looking to men or to books for a know- 
ledge of the doctrines of Christ, than I should think 
of committing to another the keeping of my own 
soul. I fully believe in the testimony of the apostle 
James : " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of 
God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth 
not ; and it shall be given him." 

This, my friends, is our great privilege, we may 
ask of God for wisdom to direct us in all the duties 
that belong to this present state, and it will be given 
us. Let us therefore improve it, until we all " come 
into the possession of that kingdom, which consists 
not in meats or drinks, divers washings and carnal 
ordinances, but in righteousness and peace, and joy in 
the Holy Spirit." 



SERMON II. 

DELIVERED AT FRIENDS' MEETING HOUSE, SOLEBURY, BUCKS 
COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, ON FIRST-DAY MORNING, SEVENTH 
MONTH 8th, 1849. 

There is a sentiment contained in a short Scripture 
expression, which I have felt right to bring into view 
on the present occasion, not because it may contain 



20 



SERMONS BY 



anything that is new, but because it is a truth that I 
apprehend all of us will be willing to subscribe to : 
" Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a re- 
proach to any people." And it is because I have 
felt a desire that we may come to enjoy the blessings 
of righteousness, and escape the reproach consequent 
upon every thing that is iniquitous, that I am led to 
address you. 

It may be well for us individually to make an ex- 
amination, that we may understand for ourselves, in 
what righteousness consists, that we may not be 
following any cunningly devised fable, or depending 
on our speculations and theories of religion ; but hav- 
ing an eye to the truth as it is in Jesus, pursue it, and 
come to the enjoyment of the blessings it ever brings 
with it. In my view righteousness consists in, and 
is the effect of, our obedience to the Divine law : it is 
a practical and every-day work, and as we engage 
in it we shall know a progression from one state of 
experience to another, " till we all come in the unity 
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, 
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of 
the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be no 
more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about 
with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, 
and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in weight to 
deceive ; but speaking the truth in love, may grow 
up into him in all things, which is the head, even 
Christ." 

We should not be deceived by considering that 
righteousness consists in a profession of religion, in a 
conformity to ceremonial observances, or in a belief 



JOHN JACKSON. 21 

in any opinions and doctrines, which men have fram- 
ed and embodied in what are called systems of faith 
and worship. For if we are only depending on our 
belief in these things, or in the ceremonial observ- 
ances which they enjoin, we may be in the same con- 
dition that the Jews were, when the blessed Jesus 
came among them with the message of the gospel of 
light and salvation, teaching them that it was not in 
tithing mint, anise, and cummin, and overlooking 
the weightier matters of the law, that they were to 
be accepted, but in their obedience to the laws of 
their Creator, in the fulfilment of the duties that were 
impressed upon them by the Author of their being. 

He told the people of that day, when he was de- 
claring to them the truth of his Heavenly Father, 
" Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness 
of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter 
into the kingdom of heaven." The Scribes and 
Pharisees were unwilling to receive the doctrine he 
taught, for their ideas of religion seem not to have 
extended beyond the observance of their outward 
rituals. They presumed that the law, with its sacri- 
fices and offerings, its priests and temple, would make 
the comers thereunto perfect, and they persisted in 
observing those things which Moses had allowed 
their fathers to do " because of the hardness of their 
hearts" and instead of obeying the truth that Jesus 
had declared unto them, they conspired together to 
persecute him, and finally to put him to death. 

We may hold up the life and example of Jesus as 
being worthy of imitation — his precepts, as inculcat- 
ing the " righteousness which exalteth a nation," 



22 SERMONS BY 

and the doctrines which he taught for their simple 
and practical character, their adaptation to the wants 
and condition of man under all the circumstances in 
which he may be placed — whatever may be his situa- 
tion in life — to whatever nation, kindred, tongue, or 
people he may belong. 

The religion which Jesus came to promulgate 
among men, and which is purely a work of practical 
benevolence, and not a system of opinions or set of 
forms, has been applicable to man from the beginning 
of the world down to the present hour, and is the re- 
ligion that is taught by the Creator himself to all the 
children of men. Christianity is nothing new. The 
gospel was preached to man in the beginning, when 
the Creator breathed into him the breath of life, and 
constituted him a living soul. It has been taught to 
Jew and Greek, Barbarian and Scythian, bond and 
free, all who have feared God and worked righteous- 
ness, by whatever name they may be called, have 
known Christ and the gospel which is the " power of 
God unto salvation to all them that believe." 

Professing Christians have unquestionably com- 
mitted an error in making Christianity consist in a 
belief in a certain system of opinions and doctrine, 
the tendency of which has been to make religion 
more a matter of theory than practice, of word than 
of deed. 

It was not so with the blessed Jesus. He never 
made out for his disciples any w r ritten system of belief 
or doctrine. He insisted wholly upon practical right- 
eousness — love and good works. When he was que- 
ried of, w T hich was the greatest commandment, he 



JOHN JACKSON. 23 

replied to the inquirer; "The first of all the com- 
mandments is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first 
commandment. And the second is like, namely that, 
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is 
none other commandment greater than these." He 
summed up the whole duty of man in these few T 
words ; he showed that religion was the same thing 
in the days of Moses, (for he quoted the words of 
Moses,) as it was then ; and it is the same thing now 
that it was in the days of Jesus of Nazareth. The 
principles of righteousness which are implanted in 
our nature by the Author of our being, are as un- 
changeable as God is unchangeable. These are attri- 
butes of the Infinite Mind, and are made manifest in 
man for the government of his conduct, and his 
growth in the knowledge of his Maker, the world 
over. Shall I say the world over? Yes; not only 
upon this little ball of earth that we occupy, but 
throughout the boundless infinite expanse of creation, 
wherever there is rational intelligence, the same law 
prevails, the same laws govern, for the same God 
reigns everywhere, and is present in every part of 
his material and spiritual universe. 

How beautifully did Jesus, on many occasions, turn 
the attention of the people to these principles of righte- 
ousness. Love was one of them : it was the distin- 
guishing attribute of his Father and our Father, of 
his God and our God. 

The apostle also had so high an estimate of it, that 



24 SERMONS BY 

he declared "God is love, and they that dwell in love 
dwell in God, and God dwelleth in them." 

Jesus, therefore, made righteousness in this parti- 
cular consist in man's obedience to the Divine attri- 
bute of love. It was intended to bless him, and it 
invariably does bless him whenever he comes to be 
governed by it. It is the influence of this principle 
that sanctifies the social compact — renders harmo- 
nious the relations of husband and wife, parents and 
children, and would bind the whole family of man in 
one common bond of affection. Social, conjugal, 
paternal, and filial love, are all branches of one great 
stream, all are proofs of the Divinity in man, strength- 
ening our faith in the soul's immortality. 

When Jesus pointed out these great duties of man, 
well might he say, " There is none other command- 
ment greater than these." He spoke of them as the 
commandments, divinely given to the children of 
Israel. The Jews were not willing to obey this Di- 
vine law written in the heart, which would have led 
them into the peaceful kingdom of Christ, and made 
them worshippers in that temple and true sanctuary 
which God hath pitched and not man. Thus we hear 
them using this language to Moses, " Speak thou to 
us and we will hear; but let not God speak to us lest 
we die." They wanted an outward law, and an out- 
ward Canaan. Forsaking the immediate teachings 
of the Holy One, they soon began " to hew out unto 
themselves cisterns that could hold no water." They 
made their religion consist in the observance of ex- 
ternal rituals, and relied upon their sacrifices and 
their offerings to take away their sins. The prophet 



JOHN JACKSON. 25 

Isaiah reminded them of the insufficiency of these 
and of the great duties inseparably connected with a 
life of righteousness. " To what purpose is the mul- 
titude of your sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord: I 
am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of 
fed beasts; I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of 
lambs or of goats. When ye come to appear before 
me, who hath required this at your hands to tread my 
courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an 
abomination unto me ; the new moons and Sabbaths, 
the calling of assemblies I cannot away with. When 
ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes 
from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will 
not hear; your hands are full of blood. Wash you, 
make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from 
before mine eyes ! Cease to do evil. Learn to do 
icell. Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the 
fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, let us 
reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins 
be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though 
they be red like crimson, they shall be as" wool." 
Here the requirements of the Divine law were plainly 
set forth — the practical duties of life were opened to 
their view, and if they failed to fulfil these, in vain 
were all their ceremonial observances, for to use the 
language of the apostle, " It was not possible that the 
blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." 

The truth is, they never were commanded to offer 
sacrifices. These were inventions of their own. The 
prophet Jeremiah is very clear upon the subject when 
speaking to this very people. " Thus saith the Lord 
of hosts, the God of Israel : Put your burnt-offerings 
3 



2fi SERMONS BY 

unto your sacrifices and eat flesh. For I spake not 
unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day 
that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, con- 
cerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices: But this thing 
commanded I them, saying, obey my voice, and I 
will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and 
walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you 
that it may be well with you. But they hearkened 
not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels 
and in the imaginations of their evil heart, and went 
backward and not forward." 

The prophet reproached them for their idolatry 
and superstition; he charged them with having done 
evil in the sight of the Lord in setting their abomina- 
tions in the house which was called by his name, to 
pollute it. 

Now we see when the blessed Jesus came to this 
people and endeavoured to show to them that reli- 
gion consisted in carrying out, in ihe practice of life, 
the principles of righteousness, he was despised and 
rejected by them ; but, nevertheless, he continued 
bearing his testimony to the truth until his life was 
sacrificed in the cause in which he was engaged. He 
illustrated by his example the doctrine he taught — 
he proved his love to God by love to man, and the 
only evidence we can produce of our love to God, is 
the extent of our love to our fellow men. 

I have said this was no new doctrine. The Jews 
were unwilling to receive it in the days of Moses. 
They rejected it in the days of Jesus Christ. And 
now, after eighteen hundred years have rolled away, 
since Jesus preached it in Judea, professing Christians 



JOHN JACKSON. 27 

are but little less prepared to receive it as the rule of 
human conduct. This goes to show how little has 
been gained by subscribing to the popular creeds. It 
goes to show that unless religion is made an every- 
day work, it can be of no possible value. 

If Christianity is to consist only in a belief in cer- 
tain opinions, or in the observance of certain forms, 
it is of no more value than Mahometanism, Paganism, 
or any other form of worship whatever. But, my 
friends, it is otherwise. Christianity is intended to 
be a rule of life; it is designed to elevate man from 
the image of the earthly to the image of the heavenly 
nature; to bring him into that state of oneness with 
God, which Jesus spoke of in his beautiful prayer: 
" That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art 
in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in 
us." The apostle also exhorted the Philippians, " Let 
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, 
who, being in the form of God, thought it not rob- 
bery to be equal with God." 

Are we prepared to believe the doctrine of Jesus? 
Are we willing to follow in his footsteps until we 
also come to be " heirs of God, and joint-heirs with 
Christ." 

I look upon the Christian religion as not only hav- 
ing been illustrated in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, 
and a few of the righteous who have gone before us, 
but I consider it is illustrated in the lives of all those 
who " fear God and work righteousness." These be- 
come sons of God and daughters of God, in the same 
sense that Jesus was the Son of God. He has been 
called the Beloved Son. Why was this great distinc- 



28 SERMONS 13Y 

tion conferred upon him? The answer is plain: 
"Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity: 
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with 
the oil of gladness above thy fellows." He has set 
us an example of obedience, of faithfulness, and of 
good works, that we might follow in his steps ; and 
we may overcome the world as he overcame the 
world, by resisting temptation, and obedience to his 
Father's will. 

I know that many professors of religion look upon 
it as a great heresy to hold out the idea that Jesus of 
Nazareth was a man ; but I agree with the Scripture 
testimony concerning him, in which he is spoken of 
as " man approved of God by signs and wonders 
which God did by him/' I am not denying the di- 
vinity of Christ, when I say that the body of Jesus was 
no more divine than our bodies are divine. It confess- 
edly had all the attributes of humanity; it was made 
" in the likeness of men." The same pow 7 er which 
sanctified that person and made him pure, will also 
sanctify us and make us pure. The same " spirit" 
that descended upon Jesus, will descend upon us; the 
same word that was there manifested in the flesh, 
hath also appeared unto us, and all who receive it, 
according to Scripture testimony, have "pow T er to 
become the sons of God." 

I am not for bringing down this bright example to 
a level w 7 ith the irregularities of human conduct. Oh, 
no ! But I am for exalting man above the imperfec- 
tions and frailties of humanity, to a level with Jesus , 
of Nazareth, for I consider it is the glorious aim of 
the gospel to bring us up to the same platform of 



JOHN JACKSON. 29 

righteousness that we may partake at the same foun- 
tain of the Spiritual bread, which cometh down from 
God out of heaven, and giveth life to the soul. Is not 
this the doctrine of Jesus? " He that doeth the will 
of my Father in heaven, the same is my brother, my 
sister, and my mother." 

How beautifully did Jesus call the attention of the 
people to this power within themselves, when he told 
them, " The kingdom of God cometh not with obser- 
vation : neither shall they say, Lo, here ! or Lo, there ! 
for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." He 
spoke of the seed that the sower went forth to sow — 
of the leaven that was placed in three measures of 
meal, and by many other parables and figures di- 
rected them to the cultivation of the principles of 
righteousness. 

Now, my friends, are we not all satisfied that if the 
precepts of Jesus were carried out in our daily life ; 
if human conduct was wholly regulated by the prin- 
ciples of love, of mercy, of justice, of truth, that the 
condition of man would be improved — that there 
would be far more enjoyment and less misery in the 
world than there now T is in consequence of neglect in 
cultivating these heaven-born virtues? Is it possible 
for us to carry out in our lives and conduct these sim- 
ple elements of the Christian religion ? Can we con- 
form to the example and precepts of Jesus? If this 
be impossible or impracticable, then Christianity is a 
cunningly devised fable. But we believe it is possi- 
ble: we believe that the religion of Jesus maybe car- 
ried out in practice: we believe that we can do to 
others as we would have others do to us: we believe 

8* 



30 



SERMOiVS BY 



that we can love our enemies, do good to them that 
hate us, and pray for them that despitefully use us 
and persecute us. It has been shown unto us what 
is good, and we know that we are required to fulfil 
the law of love. Why, then, is not the attention of 
professing Christians turned more to the practice of 
these things than to the ceremonial part of religion, 
and a belief in their written systems of faith? For 
what has all this done? It has made sectarians and 
bigots ; it has spread discord, contention and hatred, 
where all should have been harmony, and peace, and 
love. See how the peace and harmony of human 
society has been broken by contending for orthodoxy 
of opinion. This could never occur if the principles 
inculcated in the precepts of Jesus were made the 
standard of righteousness and the rule of life. 

I am no sectarian. I cannot believe that God is 
partial, or that he has neglected any portion of the 
human family, but that his grace has been extended 
to all the children of men ; in other w r ords, I believe 
that these piinciples of righteousness to which I feel 
concerned to call your attention, have been revealed 
to all. The Gospel, which Paul declared was preach- 
ed to every creature, is preached to us, "teaching us 
that denying ungodliness, and the world's lusts, we 
should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this 
present world." 

We should not, like the Pharisee of old, surround 
ourselves with the mantle of self-righteousness, and 
be ready to say, " I thank God that I am not like 
other men;" for although we may be permitted to 
enjoy many privileges that other portions of the hu- 



JOHN JACKSON. 31 

man family are not blest with, yet we are account- 
able for all 'that we have received. If we have 
received five talents, we have five more to answer 
for; and he who had received but one, would have 
been accepted if that one had been improved. The 
many favours and blessings we enjoy should fill our 
hearts with thankfulness to God, and increase our 
love to our fellow-creatures. With the desire that 
others may enjoy the blessings of righteousness, there 
could be no room in our hearts for sectarian bitter- 
ness ; we would look upon all our fellow-men as chil- 
ren of one common Father, created for the same great 
purpose, and destined to the same-eternity. Oh ! when 
I consider the blessings that would result to mankind 
if the principles of righteousuess were made the rule 
of life, I feel concerned for my fellow-creatures, and 
if I have any mission of the gospel of Christ, it is to 
call their attention to the cultivation of these, rather 
than to speculative opinions and written systems of 
faith. Let godliness be the test of a holy life; let 
religion be stripped of every thing but practical 
righteousness. Then charity w T ould take the place of 
bigotry, and spiritual devotion the place of lifeless 
forms. Let the sublime precepts of Jesus be obeyed, 
and the " sw T ord would be beaten into a ploughshare, 
and the spear into a pruning-hook ; nation would no 
longer lift up sword against nation, neither would 
men learn war any more." Let us mark the example 
of him who was accused by the Scribes and Phari- 
sees of being the friend of the publicans and sinners. 
He went about doing good ; he bound up the broken- 
hearted, proclaimed liberty to the captive, and preach- 



32 



SERMONS BY 



ed the gospel to the poor. Even the outcasts from 
society were the objects of his solicitude ; he did good 
to his enemies, and prayed for them even when they 
were inflicting on him the cruelties of death. 

" Righteousness exaltetk a nation" But alas ! this 
doctrine is too much overlooked, not only by nations, 
but by individuals, and it is too little regarded by the 
popular theology of the present day. Hence with 
the increase of what is called religion, there is not a 
corresponding advancement of the peaceable kingdom 
of Jesus Christ among men. The great profession of 
religion which is manifesting itself in Sabbath-keep- 
ing, in church-going, and a variety of other external 
observances, would seem to indicate that vital Chris- 
tianity is spreading in the earth, but when we con- 
sider that this profession of religion tolerates many 
irregularities of human conduct, and lends its sanction 
to some of the greatest evils that ever afflicted the 
family of man, we are led to fear that it does not em- 
brace the cultivation of the fundamental principles of 
righteousness. 

We hear a great deal said about the conversion of 
the heathen; we see vast efforts made in circulating 
the Bible in the earth ; we hear of proselytes being 
multiplied like the drops of the morning. Proselytes 
to what ? To the practice of Christianity? No : but 
to absurd theories and speculative opinions of religion 
in no way connected with it. The great work of 
evangelizing the heathen, (as it is called,) seems to 
be but little more than bringing them to subscribe to 
certain opinions and doctrines as being fundamental 



JOHN JACKSON. 33 

in religion, and when they have endorsed these, they 
are said to be converted, and are called Christians. 

Jesus declared, u By this shall all men know that 
ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another." 
And again : " If any man will be my disciple he must 
deny self, and take up his cross daily and follow me." 
Now, it does not appear that there is much concern 
to spread these great fundamental doctrines of Chris- 
tianity, from the fact, that while we are going with 
the Bible in one hand, to convert the heathen, we are 
holding the sword in the other. 

Many of those who are very earnest in their pro- 
fessions to religion, and zealous in their endeavours 
to convert the heathen, have such a perverted view 
of the Christian religion themselves as to believe that 
it sanctions war, and are by precept and example 
lending their influence to support this barbarous cus- 
tom, which had its origin in the depravity of human 
% passions, and is continued from generation to genera- 
tion, although manifestly at variance with the law of 
God, written in the hearts of the children of men. 

Oh ! it is sorrowful when we see the professors of 
Christianity, and even the professed ministers of 
Christ, upholding by their testimony and their influ- 
ence this barbarous practice, either in our own time 
or in days that are past. How can these b£ instru- 
mental in spreading the gospel — or in holding up to 
others a religion that " breathes glory to God in the 
highest, on earth peace and good will to men?" 
Would it not be better for them to observe the in- 
junction of Jesus, when he says, " Seest thou the 
mote in thy brother's eye and beholdest not the beam 



34 SERMONS BY 

in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast the 
beam out of thine own eye, then shalt thou see more 
clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye." 
If we observed this rule, we should see the professors 
of religion bearing a faithful testimony against the 
whole custom of war. Then might they with con- 
sistency hold out this language to others, " Follow us 
as we follow Christ." If, instead of loving our ene- 
mies, we hate them — instead of blessing, curse them 
— if, instead of doing good for evil, we hold to the 
doctrine of repelling evil by evil, our fruits are as un- 
like the productions of a gospel spirit, as the fruit of 
the thorn is unlike the grape — or the fruit of the 
thistle that of the fig tree. I am opposed to war — I 
wish not to disguise my convictions that it is a gross 
and palpable violation of the plainest doctrines of 
Christ. I look upon the custom as being so utterly 
at variance with the obligations of the gospel, that I 
shall bear my testimony against it, until this frail « 
tabernacle shall slumber in the stillness of death. 

Whatever men may profess, however good or true 
may be the opinions they have embraced, there is 
something besides a belief in their svstems of religion 
necessary to their salvation. The apostle James, in 
his day, saw that there was a disposition to depend 
on fai'h and belief alone — and to rest satisfied with 
merely a name to religion. " Show me thy faith," 
says he, " without thy works, and I will show thee 
my faith by my works. Thou believest there is one 
God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and 
tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith 
without works is dead ?" So will our faith be dead, 



JOHN JACKSON. 35 

unless it produces the fruits of the spirit, which are 
love, joy, peace, gentleness, meekness, temperance, 
brotherly kindness and charity. 

I have a testimony to bear to the simplicity of the 
Christian religion. I do not believe that it is so in- 
volved in obscurity that we cannot comprehend it. 
It is plain and simple, and perfectly consistent with 
the reason of man ; for our reason is a gift of the 
Creator, and divine revelation does not contradict it. 
1 know there are many opinions, promulgated for 
religious truths, that require a sacrifice of the human 
understanding — we are asked to believe them, and 
denounced as infidels if we refuse to subscribe to 
them, when at the same time these are admitted to 
be mysteries that the human mind never can under- 
stand or comprehend. Take for example the doc- 
trine of the " Trinity." We are told that the Divine 
Being, who is, " a spirit" is composed of three sepa- 
rate and distinct "persons" That these three " per- 
sons" have equal attributes and equal powers, and 
that although they are separate and distinct, they are 
nevertheless one and indivisible ! 

The doctrine admits of no explanation. It renders 
the Divine nature wholly incomprehensible, and how- 
ever much the knowledge of God may be necessary 
to our present and future well-being, we can never 
reach it through this dark and gloomy channel. 

Has religion any thing to do with such absurdities 
as this ? No : all that we are required to believe and 
to know, is opened to our understanding by the light 
of truth; that which religion requires is plain and 



n 



2Q SERMONS BY 

practical, while dogmas so irrational and obscure, are 
to be ranked with human traditions. 

I cannot subscribe to the doctrine, that we are all 
sinners in consequence of the transgression of our 
first parents; much less to a scheme of redemption, 
which has for its object the removal of this supposed 
innate and original guilt. There is no truth in this 
idea of a vicarious atonement — the innocent suffering 
for the guilty — and I have no hesitation in calling it 
a popular superstition. It is not supported by any 
direct testimony of Jesus Christ, who would not have 
omitted it had this been the object of his coming, nor 
would he have told the people of that day, " For this 
end was I born, and for this cause came I into the 
world, that I might bear witness to the truth" The 
idea is inconsistent with reason, and contrary to that 
great law of cause and effect, which operates with as 
much certainty in the spiritual as in the physical 
world. In obedience to this law, if thou doest well, 
thou shalt be accepted, and if thou doest not well, sin 
lieth at thy door ; and no sacrifice or offering that 
was ever made without thee, can cleanse thee from 
this sin, and restore thee into the Divine favour. We 
can only be saved by resisting temptation, and by our 
obedience to the manifestations of the Divine will. 
We escape the pain of spiritual death — not by any 
thing that is done without us, but by ceasing to do 
evil and learning to do well. The terms of our ac- 
ceptance with God were expressed long ago in this 
Scripture declaration, " Let the wicked forsake his 
ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let 
him turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on 



JOHN JACKSON. 



37 



him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon," 
— and they have never changed. 

Now I invite you, my brethren and sisters, to ex- 
amine these subjects for yourselves, The truth can 
loose nothing by the most rigid investigation, while 
error may be detected, and the works of darkness 
brought to light ; and above all things, examine your- 
selves, whether ye be in the truth, yea or nay. If 
you feel conscious that you have been forsaking the 
path of duty, or that you are not faithful stewards 
over the good gifts bestowed upon you ; stop — like 
prodigal of old — stop, in your wrong career. There 
is a hand stretched forth for your deliverance, that 
will lead you back to the path of peace. The divine 
call is extended to us, "Come unto me all ye that are 
weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 
Let us obey that call, we shall thereby promote our 
present and future well-being ; whereas, by persisting 
in a course of conduct that is evil, the sin, which is a 
reproach to any people, will rest upon us. Let us 
" add unto our faith virtue ; and to virtue knowledge; 
and to knowledge temperance ; and to temperance 
patience ; and to patience godliness ; and to godliness 
brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly kindness charity." 
" For," says the apostle, " if ye do these things, ye 
shall never fall." But we shall be introduced into 
the kingdom of Christ, and when called upon to 
render an account of our stewardship, be able to 
adopt the language of the beloved Son, " I have 
finished the work thou hast given me to do ;" and 
also have the experience of the apostle, that there is 
laid up for us a " crown of righteousness." Let our 
4 



gg SERMONS BY 

religion be an every day religion. Let it consist 
wholly in the practice of righteousness, and then we 
will neither be deceived ourselves, nor be able to de- 
ceive others. If religion consisted wholly in practi- 
cal righteousness, no false doctrines could be imposed, 
no impostor could make any headway among men. 
There could be no deception, if we adopted the crite- 
rion of Jesus — " By their fruits ye shall know them." 
If we love God, we shall show it by our love one for 
another. If we are the disciples of Christ, we shall 
let our light so shine before men, that others seeing 
our good works, will glorify our Father in heaven. 

Oh! for more such Christianity as this, in which 
the precepts of the gospel are fulfilled. Then would 
cease the conflict of opinions and the strife of tongues, 
that has arrayed brother against brother, and sect 
against sect, and Divine love would exert its holiest 
influence among the children of men. Let it begin 
with us. Let our hearts become filled with these 
divine principles — and let them be expanded in love 
to our fellow creatures and our God. 

Thus shall we be instrumental in hastening the day 
when the " Mountain of the Lord's house shall be 
established on the top of the mountains, and all na- 
tions shall flow unto it," and this universal voice be 
heard, " Come brother, come sister, let us go up to- 
gether to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of 
the God of Jacob ; for He will teach us of his ways, 
and we will walk in his paths." 



JOHN JACKSON. 39 



SERMON III. 

DELIVERED AT FRIENDS' MEETING AT CHERRY STREET, PHILA- 
DELPHIA, ELEVENTH MONTH 6th, 1849. 

I have remembered, since we have been together, 
I believe with deeper instruction than I have ever 
before known, the account furnished in the Scriptures 
of a meeting of the disciples on a certain occasion, 
when it is said, that Jesus came and stood in the 
midst and saith unto them, " Peace be unto you." I 
was led to query whether that account referred to 
one meeting of this character only, and whether it 
were possible for us to witness, as these disciples did, 
the presence of Jesus Christ. It seems to me, the 
same power which overshadowed that meeting, and 
made it a season of consolation to these disciples, 
that converted them and blessed them, continues still 
to be revealed to man, in agreement with the promise 
" where two or three are met together in my name, 
there will I be in the midst of them." Without this 
sensible evidence of the Divine presence in our midst, 
our assembling in this manner will be profitless and 
comfortless — it will be but an empty form that cannot 
satisfy those desires of the immortal spirit, which are 
constantly prompting the soul onward in its progress 
towards heaven. It was on the occasion to which I 
have referred, that these disciples received the com- 
mission " Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the 



4() SERMONS BY 

Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to ob- 
serve all things, whatsoever I have commanded you: 
and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
the world." The commission and promise here 
given, can scarcely be understood or appreciated 
amidst the traditional views and opinions which have 
so generally obtained, concerning the coming of Christ. 
If we look beyond the figurative mode of expression 
to the reality, which I have no doubt the writer of 
this history meant to convey, if we mistake not the 
shadow for the substance, nor substitute the type for 
its antitype, the account of the circumstances imme- 
diately preceding and attending this meeting of the 
disciples, may become very instructive to us. Jesus, 
while he was engaged among them in the work of 
his mission, told them, " It is expedient for you that I 
go away; for if I go not away, the comforter will 
not come unto you." He saw the necessity of turn- 
ing their minds from an outward person to a Divine 
Power, from that which consisted in flesh and blood, 
to that which was spirit, for according to his own 
testimony, " the flesh profiteth nothing, it is the spirit 
that quickeneth." Hence, also he said unto them, " I 
will pray the Father, and he shall give you another 
comforter, that he may abide with you forever ; even 
the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, 
because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but 
ye know him ; for he dw 7 elleth with you and shall be 
in you. I will not leave you comfortless ; I will 
come to you." When he gave this promise, he 
certainly had no allusion to his outward person, he 
could not have meant that this was the comforter 



JOHN JACKSON. 



41 



that would appear and abide with them forever. Far 
otherwise; the figurative style which so much abounds 
in these writings is calculated to mislead, unless we 
are careful to give the words and expressions that 
are used an appropriate spiritual meaning. 

It is clear that the disciples, like the great mass of 
the professors of Christianity in the present day, were 
so outward in their views and expectations, that they 
did not perceive the meaning of Jesus, for one of them 
put the query to him in this wise, " Lord how is it that 
thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the 
world ?" Seeing that they did not understand the 
spiritual import of his words, Jesus endeavoured to 
lead them to a more spiritual view of the manifesta- 
tion of Christ in the flesh ; in which they could com- 
prehend it as the " wisdom of God, and the power of 
God," the word by which the worlds were made. 
Thus he led them to look for Christ within them, and 
in reply to the inquiry of Judas, he answered, " If 
any man love me he will keep my words ; and my 
Father will love him, and we will come and make 
our abode with him." Here he directed them to a 
spiritual manifestation, in which he should appear as 
the quickening spirit, and word of life to the soul. 
For this same word that dwelt in the flesh in the 
person of Jesus of Nazareth, as certainly is manifested 
in us, and to every rational creature under heaven for 
the same blessed purpose that it dwelt in him, to raise 
us to an equality with the angels of God. 

To this word of life, the gospel invites us in the 
affectionate language, " Come unto me all ye that are 
weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 



^2 SERMONS BY 

What are the views of the great mass of Christian 
professors concerning Christ? Are they not very 
outward and traditional ? Is not the attention of the 
people directed back to Jesus of Nazareth, rather 
than to his inward and spiritual appearing — from the 
operation of the spirit, to a dependence upon the out- 
ward person ? While such views of Christ are en- 
tertained, as are incompatible with the spiritual nature 
of the gospel, how can we hope for the increase of 
that kingdom, which brings " Glory to God in the 
highest, peace on earth, and good will to men'?" 
This can never be realized, until Christ is witnessed 
as a ruling pow T er and principle in man, governing 
all his actions by its benign influence, opening the 
path of duty before him, and showing him what he 
shall do, and what he shall leave undone. When, 
therefore, the disciples had their understandings open- 
ed on the occasion to which I have alluded, by the 
manifestation of Christ, they received the command, 
" Go ye forth teaching all nations," accompanied 
with the promise, " Lo, I am with you alway unto 
the end of the world." What now was it that was 
to be with them always f The power that opened 
their understandings and comforted them with the 
language, " Peace be unto you." Then, and not till 
then, they realized the truth of the promise, " I will 
pray the Father, and he will send you another com- 
forter." But see how it was when Jesus was taken 
; from them : mark what occurred when those faithful 
women went to the place where he lay, whom their 
souls had loved, with the anxious inquiry, " Who shall 
roll us away the stone from the door of the sepul- 



JOHN JACKSON. 43 

chre ?" " Behold there was a great earthquake ; for 
the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and 
came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat 
upon it, his countenance was as lightning, and his 
raiment white as snow." Then was the doctrine of 
Christs' spiritual appearing opened unto them, and 
they were prepared to go to the disciples with the 
joyful tidings, " He is risen from the dead." 

Are not the professors of Christianity now, like 
those faithful women, seeking the living among the 
dead? No doubt in the sincerity and fullness of 
their hearts, many are looking to the outward person 
that was crucified and laid in the sepulchre, and it 
will require the same earthquake to shake their de- 
pendence upon an outward Redeemer ; the same 
angel of the Lord must desend from heaven, and roll 
back this stone of tradition from the door, and sit 
upon it, that it may no longer prevent them from be- 
holding Christ in his inward and spiritual appearing, 
as the eternal word and ever present Saviour. 

This society has been distinguished from other re- 
ligious sects, by holding up these views of the spirit- 
ual coming of Christ. Have we known him to be in 
our midst as the crowning power of our assemblies — 
has this power subdued and sanctified our hearts — 
has it united us together in the fellowship of the gospel, 
and commissioned us to go forth " teaching all na- 
tions," that others may be baptised into this power, 
which shall abide with them always ? Oh, if this 
were the case, what meetings we should witness ; our 
religious assemblies would be blessed with the Divine 
presence, and we should be clothed with authority to 



44 SERMONS BY 

be witnesses of Christ in " Jerusalem, in Judea, and 
the uttermost parts of the earth." It is not enough, 
that we observe the form of meeting together, we 
must witness Divine Goodness to overshadow us, we 
must know our hearts made pure, and must feel the 
peaceable spirit of Jesus, we must bear one another's 
burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

A state like this is always profitable, but when it 
fails to be attained, the great end of religious associa- 
tion can never be answered. We must so witness 
the spirit of Jesus Christ, and be baptised unto the 
power of the gospel, that we can enter into sympathy- 
one with another ; then if a brother be overtaken with 
a fault, (and we are all thus liable,) those who are 
spiritually minded, would seek to restore such a one 
in the spirit of love and of good will, remembering 
themselves lest they also be tempted. 

Oh ! my friends, have we reflected on the duties 
which the gospel imposes upon us? By our profes- 
sion we are holding up to the world these cardinal 
doctrines of Christ, and we should so live up to them, 
that others seeing our good works would be led to 
glorify our Father which is in heaven. There is 
something in the view that Christ is with us always, 
that is full of instruction and encouragement. He is 
continually leading us to faithfulness in little things. 
He qualifies us to fulfil the duties connected with 
every day and every hour — these duties will be pre- 
sented to us, when we lie down, when we rise up, and 
when we walk by the way. 

We may sometimes overlook the requirements of 
truth and duty while we are waiting for what we 



JOHN JACKSON. 45 

may be pleased to call some greater demonstration, 
that we are invited to this work — the silent operation 
and promptings of the principle within ourselves, 
which is man's only true enlightener, may be ne- 
glected, and we throw off the responsibility which 
attaches to faithfulness in little things, while we are 
waiting for some great light to accomplish some sup- 
posed great end. 

The religion of Jesus, my friends, is to be advanced 
by our faithfulness in little things, in the performance 
of every-day duties ; some of these lead us to examine 
the state of our own minds, others to fulfil the obliga- 
tions we are under to our Father in heaven, and to 
our fellow-creatures upon earth. This is what makes 
the Christian ; to fill up faithfully all the relations of 
life ; to make our religion of that practical character, 
that in all our conduct amongst men we shall exhibit 
the spirit of the gospel, and imitate the beloved of God 
in justice, mercy, truth, humility, brotherly kindness 
and charity. 

Oh! here is the commission that Christ ever gives 
— this is the call we have received — the work where- 
unto we are sent — and the prayer of my spirit is, that 
we may none of us be found standing idle in the 
market places, with the paltry plea, " No man hath 
hired us." Such excuses do not correspond with the 
promises of the gospel, but are at variance with the 
great doctrine that was taught to the disciples ; " Lo, 
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
world." 

" If any man have not the spirit of Christ he is 
none of his ;" but this spirit is not withheld from any 



45 SERMONS BY 

of us. Let us seek to be more and more imbued with 
it, till our minds are clothed with love to God and 
love to each other. 

We may ask ourselves the question, whether love 
abounds as it ought to do, among a people professing 
the religion of Christ? Whether we have faithfully 
discharged the duties it enjoins, and whether we 
have laboured one with another in the peaceable spi- 
rit and wisdom of Jesus, for each other's good 1 

The answer will be found within ourselves. Such 
inquiries will stimulate us to action, and may, as we 
are faithful to our convictions of duty, often lead us, 
as Ananias was led of old, when he was sent on this 
high mission to one who was praying in Tarsus, with 
this encouraging language ; " Brother Saul, receive 
thy sight." But I fear the spirit of the gospel is 
wanted more among us than it exists. Let us search 
our own hearts. I am willing to be one with you in 
the labour, that every root of bitterness may be des- 
troyed, and the devil of hatred be overcome by the 
angel of love. 

Let every thing that worketh an abomination or 
maketh a lie be removed, and then, as it was said, 
Jesus appeared first unto her, out of whom he had 
cast seven devils, so, when we meet together in the 
name of Christ, w r e shall hear his voice in the midst 
of us, speaking the language, " Peace be unto you." 



JOHN JACKSON. 47 



SERMON IV. 

DELIVERED AT FRIENDS' MEETING, WOODBURY, N. J., ELEVENTH 
MONTH 15th, 1849, 

One of the strongest proofs to my mind of the Di- 
vine authority of the gospel of Christ, is disclosed by 
the fact, that it is constantly urging upon us to leave 
the things that are behind, and press forward towards 
a higher state of experience and enjoyment of the 
things that pertain to the kingdom of heaven : and, 
also, from the fact, that it assigns no limit to the pro- 
gression of the Immortal Spirit short of its complete 
union with the Divine fountain from which it sprang. 

It holds out to us that we are progressive beings, 
that we may advance step by step in the knowledge 
of God, and of the unspeakable riches and treasures 
of his kingdom, of the increase of w r hich there shall 
never be an end. 

What we see continually illustrated in the natural, 
is shown by the gospel to be the beautiful order of 
the spiritual world; and this progression that is pro- 
moted by it, proves it to be of Divine origin. It ad- 
dresses itself to us as it did to one formerly, who, 
when describing his state of mind, says, " I was in 
the spirit on the Lord's day," and there came an 
angel unto him, saying, " Come hither, I will show 
thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me 
away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and 
showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, des- 
cending from God out of heaven." 



4Q SERMONS BY 

It is the same gospel that was preached to man in 
the beginning, and is still preached to every rational 
creature under heaven. For, as in the outward fir- 
mament, God hath appointed no new light to illumi- 
nate the outward world, so in the spiritual kingdom, 
Christ hath been the enlightener of man, from the very 
period of time when his Creator breathed into him 
that " breath of life" which made him " a living soul." 
This Word, manifested in the flesh, is not to be limit- 
ed or confined to its appearance in the person of 
Jesus of Nazareth, for there is abundant Scripture 
testimony going to show, that the same Power and 
Word that was manifested in Him also spoke to our 
first parents, instructed Patriarchs, Prophets and Apos- 
tles, and is revealed to us for the same blessed pur- 
pose, to raise us above the earthly into the heavenly 
nature, to an equality with the angels of God. 

" Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's 
wife." These are figurative expressions, abounding 
throughout the Scriptures, but they point to a reality, 
to a power and principle within that will teach us as 
man never taught ; and to a state of heavenly-mind- 
edness that may be attained by our obedience to 
Christ. 

This gospel also addresses itself to our rational 
understanding ; its convictions are rendered so intel- 
ligible, that all may comprehend it with sufficient 
clearness to perceive their duty, and to know that 
their work consists in walking in the light that is thus 
made manifest, that they may become children of the 
light and of the day. Now, my friends, have we con- 
sidered that we are favoured with the light of Christ, 



JOHN JACKSON. 49 

precisely as the righteous in past ages have been be- 
fore us ! 

The same angel that John saw, is also addressing 
itself to us, and inviting us to corne up in our heavenly- 
journey ; that we also may be shown that great city, 
the holy Jerusalem, "descending out of heaven from 
God," which consists in a state of righteousness and 
purity. 

Have we considered that w T e are placed in a posi- 
tion so favourable to our advancement to a state of 
perfection ? It is well for us to examine our high 
privileges, and properly appreciate them. For if we 
lightly value them, we shall not be likely to improve 
the opportunities we have, or rightly occupy the gifts 
which have been bestowed upon us. Thus we may 
pass on through life, and finally reach the end of our 
stewardship, without being able to render any better 
account of our progress, than the unprofitable servant 
who put his master's talent in a napkin, and buried it 
in the earth. 

I am not about to hold up religion as a terror. I 
have no idea of serving God through fear of judg- 
ments to come. This is not the character of the 
gospel ! Its language is, " Come unto me all ye that 
are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for my 
yoke is easy, and my burden is light." I would hold 
it up as something that is so lovely in itself, as to 
make it attractive and inviting, as something that en- 
ables us to overcome every sin that doth so easily 
beset us, and elevate our condition step by step in the 
scale of improvement, till we become united with the 
5 



50 



SERMONS BY 



inhabitants of that city, "which needs not the light of 
the sun, nor of the moon to shine in it, for the glory 
of God doth enlighten it, and the Lamb is the light 
thereof." 

What then is the Christian progress, and how shall 
it be made to put us in possession of the treasures of 
a heavenly kingdom ? We must give all diligence to 
make our calling and election sure, by adding to our 
" faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge 
patience, to patience temperance, to temperance god- 
liness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brother- 
ly kindness charity/' 

It is by continuing to do these things, that the 
apostle says we shall never fall, but shall be made 
fruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is the 
only saving knowledge of Christ. It is known by 
these fruits. This is the religion that I would hold 
up to our view, because it is constantly inviting us to 
go on unto perfection. It is not a religion of opinion, 
or outward ceremony, it is not confined to any par- 
ticular form of devotion, it cannot be reached by 
subscribing to any particular written creed. The 
only religion that is profitable to man, is that which 
is embraced with sincerity from a conviction of the 
understanding, and put in practice in the every day 
relations of life. We may have our beautiful theo- 
ries of faith, and persuade ourselves as some did for- 
merly, that this will save us ; but, says the apostle 
James, " What doth it profit, my brethren, though a 
man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can 
faith save him? Faith without works is dead/' We 
may be very zealous in defending the orthodoxy of 






JOHN JACKSON 5[ 

our opinions, and in building up our systems of reli- 
gion on the traditions of men, but if we are not carry- 
ing out in the practice of life the vital principles of 
righteousness, all our theorizing and creed-making will 
only be like the righteousness of the Scribes and Phari- 
sees, of whom Jesus spoke, when he said to the people 
of his time, " Except your righteousness exceed the 
righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall 
in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." 

Religion, to be useful, must be practical. Our 
Father in Heaven, regarding with indifference what 
men so often consider essential to a holy life, an ad- 
herence to certain opinions, and the observance of 
outward ceremonies, looks at the heart, and conde- 
scends to dwell in the mind that is humble and con- 
trited before him. The soul that feels there is none 
in heaven but him, or in all the earth that is like unto 
him, witnesses the truth of the declaration, "Behold the 
tabernacle of God is with man, and God shall dwell 
in them, and he will be their God, and they shall 
serve him." 

Now if religion embraces the practical fulfilment 
of all the duties of life, we shall see that it increases 
the amount of human happiness, binds man to his 
fellow, and extends the great law of love " from sea 
to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth." 
Its influence over human conduct should soften the 
heart, regulate the affections, subdue the " lusts of the 
flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life," and 
give us a victory over the world. Oh ! it will enable 
us to overcome the sins that doth most easily beset 
us, and there is no victory greater than this. To 



52 sermons Br 

overcome one of the enemies of our household, which 
are the sins and follies that beset our path, is a victory 
of infinitely more value than the mightiest triumph 
that ever was achieved amidst the " confused noise 
of the warrior and garments rolled in blood." "He 
that is slow to anger is greater than the mighty, and 
he that ruleth his own spirit, than he that taketh a 
city." 

How many such victories might we obtain by 
watchfulness, obedience, and prayer, by regulating 
our thoughts, and bringing every desire and tempera- 
ment of mind into the harmony of the Divine will. 
This is the Christian's work, and in the accomplish- 
ment of it, we progress onward in our heavenly jour- 
ney, till we reach this holy Jerusalem, the city of our 
God. 

Oh ! my young friends, this is a subject that inter- 
ests you in a very especial manner. I would affec- 
tionately ask you to give it due consideration. 
Religion is not to be your dread, but your delight ; it 
is not to deprive you of any permanent good, or 
lessen any enjoyment that God in his infinite wisdom 
designed you to realize. He who has made the 
world on w T hich we dwell, subservient to one prevail- 
ing principle of beauty and order, has invited us to 
behold in his workmanship examples worthy of imita- 
tion. We discover in every thing around us, traces 
of the order, benevolence, and omnipotence of God. 
" The invisible things of him from the creation of the 
world are clearly seen, being understood [by the 
things that are made." Shall we see these examples 
of order, benevolence and goodness, these traces of 



JOHN JACKSON. 53 

an Infinite Mind written in the outward creation, and 
overlook that still more glorious revelation of him- 
self, in which he has appeared in our hearts, for the 
blessed purpose of elevating us to a condition to en- 
joy his glory? I would encourage you, my brethren 
and sisters, to appreciate and cultivate this noble en- 
dowment of the Creator. It is of more value than 
any thing this world can give you, and is capable of 
vast improvement. It is my conviction, that infinite 
progression is an attribute of immortality, and while 
I entertain this belief, I must regard these revelations 
of God in the present life, as the commencement of a 
higher order of being, which shall continue to enlarge 
and expand, when we shall lay aside these frail tene- 
ments of dust. With this hope before us, death is 
disarmed of its sting, and the grave of its victory. 

I invite you, therefore, my young friends, calmly 
and seriously to examine the subject for yourselves. 
Look upon religion as something that is inviting you 
above the low r er enjoyments of this world, and culti- 
vate the talents that God has given you. You are 
reminded that the harvest is plenteous, and invited to 
labour, that you may reap a rich rew r ard. The angels 
of God bring to you glad tidings of great joy, and fill 
your spirits with a desire to know more of his infinite 
attributes and perfections. Live up to your convic- 
tions of duty; lay the foundation of your spiritual 
building upon these revelations of truth to your own 
souls, and the superstructure that will be raised upon 
it, will be like the city which John saw, " having on 
the north three gates, on the east three gates, on the 
south three gates, and on the west three gates"— a 

5* 



54 SERMONS BY 

beautiful figure, showing that the avenues through 
which truth, and light, and knowledge shall enter, are 
abundant on every side. 

Let Christ within be your hope of glory. Follow 
not after the traditions and opinions of men, which 
are often embraced without examination, without re- 
gard to their applicability, as a rule of human con- 
duct, and often at variance with reason, one of the 
noblest gifts of God. Regard the Divine voice to 
your own minds as the highest oracle of truth, and if 
you would go on unto perfection, above all things fail 
not to give heed to this " angel of light," that is in- 
viting you onward and upw T ard in your heavenly 
journey, in the beautiful language " Come up hither, 
and I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife." 



SERMON V. 

DELIVERED AT FRIENDS' MEETING, DARBY, ELEVENTH MONTH 
25th, 1849. 

" What will it profit a man, if he shall gain the 
whole world, and lose his own soul?" These words 
of Jesus have been presented to the view of my mind 
as being full of instruction, and worthy of our indi- 
vidual consideration. When we consider that every 
accountable and immortal being that is brought into 
existence, is the immediate offspring of its Divine 
author, w r e shall not w 7 onder that Jesus should have 
placed the value of the soul higher than even the pos- 






JOHN JACKSON. 55 

session of the whole world. To be, and to know that 
we are in possession of an immortal spirit, is to have 
an evidence of that link in the great chain that con- 
nects the present w T ith the future, and unites man 
to his Maker. We have received our spiritual na- 
ture immediately from God. It constitutes the germ 
of immortality and eternal life, which under the 
blessed influence of the gospel of Christ, is capable 
of unlimited growth and enlargement. Taking this 
view, we shall see the force of the expression of 
Jesus, "What will it profit a man, if he shall gain the 
whole world, and lose his own soul ?" It is a ques- 
tion of vital importance to our present and future 
well-being, to know that we are in possession of a 
nature that does not die, when the tabernacle in 
which it is contained shall return to the dust from 
which it was taken; and it is equally important that 
we should improve a gift, bearing upon it the proof 
of divine origin. If we read attentively and under- 
standing^ the beautiful parables of Jesus, we shall 
find that many of them have a direct reference to 
this subject; that through these he endeavoured to 
instruct his disciples in the nature of the growth of 
the immortal spirit, from the state of a germ in which 
it was bestowed, to that state in which it becomes 
perfected in the knowledge of its Author. 

When Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to 
" a grain of mustard seed/' or to the " seed that a 
sower went forth to sow," or a " little leaven hid in 
three measures of meal," he represents it as some- 
thing small in its first appearance, but which is capa- 
ble of being cultivated and improved, by the continual 



50 



SERMONS BY 



addition of the experience of the things belonging to 
that kingdom. The grain of mustard seed, unless 
it were placed in a position favourable to its growth, 
would be of no further value than a single grain, but 
we see it contains within itself the elements of its 
own reproduction. When the soil upon which it falls 
is prepared to receive and nourish it, it is then that it 
brings forth the stem, the branches, the blossom, and 
finally the fruit fully ripe, and this process is con- 
tinually repeated. Thus the outward world furnishes 
an illustration of the growth to be experienced by our 
spiritual nature, until that germ of the Divine life, 
which is immediately bestowed by the Author of our 
being, and which constitutes us beings, " made in the 
image of God," has expanded and brought forth those 
fruits of " righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy 
Spirit," in which the apostle declares the kingdom of 
heaven consists. 

We shall lose our own souls, so far as the enjoy- 
ment of those things is to be realized, if we neglect 
this kind of culture, for our spiritual nature can only 
expand and yield these fruits as it is cultivated and 
improved. 

These parables of Jesus are akin to the figure of the 
Garden of Eden, in which man is placed, with autho- 
rity to dress and keep the trees of the garden, and 
partake of the fruit of all except the " tree of the 
knowledge of evil." Thus we have parables and 
figures throughout the Scriptures, all pointing us to 
the improvement of a treasure that we have in 
"earthen vessels," and as this is improved, we ad- 
vance from one mansion of the Heavenly Father's 



JOHN JACKSON. 57 

house to another, for according to the testimony of 
Jesus, it is declared, " In my Father's house are many 
mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you, I 
go to prepare a place for you, that where I am there 
ye may be also." 

The professed belief among Christians is, that the 
soul cannot be saved without Christ, and if this doc- 
trine were carried out in practice, we should see 
wonderful illustrations of this growth to which I have 
alluded, in the knowledge of the Lord spreading from 
sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the 
earth. If men really believed that their salvation de- 
pended on their likeness to Christ, all the wrongs and 
evils of unrighteousness would cease, and the king- 
dom of God would come on earth as it is in heaven. 

But unhappily men do not in reality believe that 
they are to Bl saved by their likeness to Christ, so 
much as by their opinions concerning him. Hence 
the great doctrine of salvation by Christ, and the 
souls advancement from stature to stature, till it 
attains to the state of a " man in Christ Jesus" is not 
fully understood; and in consequence, the fruits of the 
spirit, which are love, peace, joy, charity, and all the 
heavenly virtues, do not correspond with the great 
profession of religion that is made among men. 

We know these fruits will appear wherever men 
witness salvation by Christ ; but while they are de- 
pending on their opinions concerning a Saviour, they 
will never be brought out of darkness into the light 
of the gospel day; neither will the church ever be 
brought out of the wilderness of lifeless forms and 
ceremonies, to behold the beauty of that temple w 7 here 



5g SERMONS BY 

God is worshipped in spirit. Upon this subject, men 
are losing their own souls, or at least giving them up 
to the keeping of others. Look over the religious 
world, and see how many thousands and tens of 
thousands of our fellow beings are taught to look for 
their spiritual bread, their knowledge of God, of 
Christ, of the kingdom of heaven, to the teachings of 
men. Resting satisfied with a name to live, and per- 
suading themselves that their opinions concerning re- 
ligion, Christ and God are true, and therefore they 
have accomplished all they have to do, in the work 
of the souls advancement, and relying upon the testi- 
mony of others for authority, are willing to leave un- 
read the great volume of truth which Christ opens to 
his followers. Happily would it be for the professors 
of Christianity, if they would seek for higher evidence 
of the presence of Christ, than the aecla rations of 
men, and they would find the promise, " Lo, I am 
with you always,'' verified in their own experience. 
There is an incident related in the Scriptures of one 
of the disciples of Jesus, that I have viewed with in- 
struction and encouragement. It is the account of 
Thomas, who is commonly considered an unbeliever, 
because he was not willing to rest his hope of salva- 
tion upon what other men said or saw^. He was not 
willing to be satisfied with the testimony of his 
brethren, when they said unto him, "We have seen 
the Lord," but wanted a higher demonstration of the 
Divine presence, than could be drawn from any 
human authority. This is apparent from the language 
he used, which, though highly figurative and meta- 
phorical, clearly conveys the honest intention and 



JOHN JACKSON. 59 

earnest desire of his mind, to receive an evidence 
equal to that which the disciples themselves had; 
" Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, 
and put my finger into the print of the nails, and 
thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." 
Mark now, the wonderful condescension and good- 
ness of God towards this honest inquirer ; all the evi- 
dence he asked for was granted him ; for Christ 
appears, and addresses himself to his state in lan- 
guage that he could understand ; " Reach hither thy 
finger and behold my hands, and reach hither thy 
hand and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, 
but believing." 

Thus was he enlightened by the same pow 7 er that 
opened the understanding of his brethren on another 
occasion, to comprehend and behold the Divine pre- 
sence, and while enjoying this clear and heavenly 
illumination, he could worship in the language, " My 
Lord and my God." 

Now if there were more unbelievers of this descrip- 
tion, I doubt not there would be more devout worship- 
pers in the Christian church, for I believe the same 
undeniable evidence, as clear and precisely of the 
same character, would be furnished to us, as was 
furnished to Thomas and the rest of these disciples, 
if rightly sought after. I am aware that many over- 
look the encouragement and instruction which the 
record of this event is designed to afford, by suppos- 
ing that it was the outward body of Jesus, that 
Thomas and the other disciples saw. I do not so 
understand it, and it is only leading us from the in- 
ward and saving, to outward and carnal views of 



60 SERMONS BY 

Christ to hold such doctrine. 'It was a spiritual 
manifestation to the disciples, precisely as he is mani- 
fested to us. While we are in possession of an im- 
mortal soul, he dwells near us, and the language that 
was uttered formerly remains to be as true now as it 
was then; " Behold I stand at the door and knock, if 
any man will hear my voice and open unto me, I will 
come in and sup with him, and he shall sup with me." 
If we rest satisfied with other men's opinions, we 
cease to be thinking beings, w T e cease to ask, that we 
may receive ; to knock, that it may be opened unto 
us ; and failing to inquire for ourselves, our under- 
standings are not opened to comprehend the sublime 
realities of the kingdom of heaven. We should not 
separate the word Christ from the word power ; they 
are and ever have been the same thing. He is spoken 
of as the " light that lighteth every man that cometh 
into the world,'' opening the path of duty before him, 
warning him against evil, and justifying him for doing 
good. He is the power that enables man to resist 
temptation, to overcome evil, to go on his way from 
glory to glory. We should confine our views of him 
entirely to the operation of this power within our- 
selves, that w r e may have such an evidence of his 
presence, as will enable us to say from living experi- 
ence, " I know that my Redeemer lives, and because 
he lives, we shall live also." 

In the parable of the sower, Jesus illustrated the 
goodness of the great Husbandman, in the universal 
distribution of the good seed, the seed of a spiritual 
nature ; and it is for us to say, whether that seed shall 
fall upon stony ground, by the way-side, among thorns, 



JOHN JACKSON. (51 

or upon soil prepared for its reception and growth. 
Let all the energies of our minds, instead of being 
coverted into swords and spears, be converted into 
ploughshares and pruning-hooks, to cultivate the 
ground for the reception and growth of this seed, in 
a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth 
righteousness. Then we shall see that the value of 
the soul increases as it expands in the knowledge of 
its Author. 

Our views of the Divine mind should not be such 
as to shut him out from the present life, leading us 
only to anticipate a knowledge of Him when we 
shall have passed beyond the limits of time. Oh, no ; 
he is not far from every one of us, seeing that " in 
Him we live and move, and have our being." 

That same benevolent Being who has spread out 
before us the visible world as a monument of his 
wisdom, power and goodness, has also furnished to 
his rational, intelligent creation, a witness of himself. 
We are, therefore, called to a knowledge of God and 
Christ now; such a knowledge that will regulate our 
thoughts and conduct, purify the heart, sanctify the 
affections, and elevate the soul into the enjoyment of 
the Divine harmony here, and lay the foundation of a 
well-grounded hope of its continuance in the world 
to come. 

But, my friends, this can only be realized as we 
continue to possess and occupy our own souls, by 
improving the gifts and talents committed to our 
care. 

Now, if there is nothing of sufficient value to be re- 
ceived in exchange for our spiritual nature, and if this 
6 



52 SERMONS BY 

constitutes the connecting link that unites us to the 
Infinite Mind, does it not follow, even though we look 
no further than the present life, that if we lose our 
own souls we cannot realize the enjoyment arising 
from union with God. 

We should embrace the religion of Jesus, because 
it puts us in possession of the joys of heaven in the 
present as well as the future world. But I have no 
idea of people being driven to embrace religion, or 
any system of belief or opinion (as is often the case) 
through fear of judgments to come, for this only tends 
to drive men into darkness and error. 

Religion should be held up, and especially to the 
young mind, as something that is cheerful and joyous 
in its character; something that shall make it happier 
every day and every hour; something that shall pre- 
serve it from all evil and secure to it all that is good. 
I have no faith in that dark and gloomy theology 
which terrifies the mind of the child, by insisting 
upon its total depravity, and the absence of a pure 
and undefiled spirit ; that holds up to it a fear of death 
and of imaginary torments beyond the grave, to 
frighten it into religion. Religion should be held up 
to the view of the child in the language of Jesus: 
" Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid 
them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." It 
should be represented as a path shining brighter and 
brighter unto the perfect day; such a view will cor- 
respond with the soul's advancement from one man- 
sion of the heavenly Father's house to another; and 
our minds should ever be impressed with the convic- 






JOHN JACKSON. 63 

tion, that the moment we turn aside from this path, 
we are on the downward course — a course strewed 
with briars and thorns, and which, as it is pursued, 
leads through all the wanderings of folly, misery, and 
wretchedness, and finally to ruin. In presenting these 
views of religion, I shall not be understood, that it 
ever leads to the indulgence of any hurtful thing. It 
will control every passion, and set bounds to the in- 
dulgence of every propensity belonging to the animal 
nature of man, and a moment's reflection will satisfy 
us of the hurtful tendency of improper indulgence in 
these. The view I wish to convey is, that religion, 
in regulating our lives, and bringing the animal pro- 
pensities under the control and dominion of the spi- 
ritual man, will deprive us of no real good ; but that 
it will render life a scene of enjoyment ; it opens to us 
the creation of God, as springing from its author, and 
invites us to look upon his works as the monuments 
of his infinite wisdom and power : it invites us to look 
within ourselves for the traces of his omnipotence 
and omnipresence ; that in the spirit's sanctuary we 
may hold communion with a Being whom the heaven 
of heavens cannot contain, but who condescends to 
dwell with the pure in heart, the humble and contrite 
spirit. Oh ! my friends, could we keep such views of 
religion before us, and contemplate the nature and 
value of the immortal soul, we should be encouraged 
to press forward till we experience those joys and 
blessed realities which the righteous of all past time 
have witnessed, by walking by the same rule, and 
minding the same thing. Like the beloved Son, we 
shall also, as we are led by the spirit of God, become 



64 SERMONS BY 

"heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." We 
should then experience a likeness to Christ, in the 
state of meekness, humility, love, universal charity for 
all mankind, and an enlarged philanthropy to which 
we shall have attained. Love to God, and to our 
fellow-creatures would be the secret spring of all our 
actions, and all our works would correspond. 

When mankind come to embrace these views, there 
will be fruits of righteousness, peace on earth, and 
good-will to men, such as the world never yet has 
witnessed, for this doctrine has for its object the 
growth of man's spiritual nature, from the germ-like 
state in which it was bestowed, until it prepares him 
to enjoy the society of saints and angels in the king- 
dom of heaven. 



SERMON VI. 

DELIVERED AT BRISTOL MEETING, ON FIRST-DAY, TWELFTH 
MONTH 16th, 1849. 

If I have a clear understanding of what the Chris- 
tian religion is, I discover nothing in it but what is 
plain and easily understood; nothing that is inconsis- 
tent with right reason; nothing that involves an ab- 
surdity or contradiction; but, on the other hand, it is 
a religion that is adapted to the wants of man under 
all circumstances in which he may be placed, to 
whatever nation, kindred, tongue, or people he may 
belong. 



JOHN JACKSON. q§ 

It is a religion that is based upon the universal 
benevolence of our Father in heaven, who is no re- 
spector of persons, but who reveals his law to all the 
children of men, and all who live in obedience to it, 
as manifested to them, are accepted of him. 

Such was the religion that the blessed Jesus pro- 
mulgated amongst men, and we cannot be conver- 
sant with his declarations, his precepts and his para- 
bles, without perceiving that the great object of his 
mission was not to fill the ears of the people with 
abstract notions and speculative opinions, nor to in- 
stitute external forms and ceremonies, but to direct 
them within themselves, to what he properly calls the 
Kingdom of Heaven, that they might be instructed in 
the way of their duty; and by obedience to these in- 
structions, thus inwardly received, they should walk 
as he walked, in a state of acceptance with their 
heavenly Father, and thus overcome the world, and 
be prepared to sit down with him upon his throne, 
even as he overcame and sat down with his Father 
upon his throne. In the instructive exhortation which 
he gave them, " What I say unto one I say unto all, 
watch and pray, and that continually, lest ye enter 
into temptation," he pointed out the origin of evil, and 
incited them to cultivate that good seed of the king- 
dom of heaven, which would bring forth fruit in due 
season, and declared, that by these fruits they should 
be known as his disciples. 

It seems to me, the great object of preaching and 
of religion, is to direct us individually within our- 
selves; that we also may understand the great truth 
to which Jesus alludes, when he spoke of the kingdom 

6* 



qq SERMONS BY 

of heaven, as the good seed which a heavenly hus- 
bandman had sown in his spiritual kingdom, and of 
which an apostle also testified, when he declared, "Ye 
are the temples of the living God, and the spirit of 
God dwelleth in you." When we come to know our- 
selves, we shall discover that all the evil which afflicts 
the family of man, owes its origin to his disobedience 
and transgression of the Divine laws; and the first 
step towards our salvation from sin, is rightly to 
understand where evil has its origin. The apostle, 
no doubt, saw the necessity of this in his time, and 
hence he makes use of this language ; " Let no man 
say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for 
God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth 
he any man: but every man is tempted when he is 
drawn away of his own lust and enticed: then when 
lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin ; and sin, 
when it is finished, bringeth forth death." In the 
view here given by the apostle, the divine character 
is not only cleared from any participation in the evil 
that is in the world, but its origin is traced to man's 
yielding to temptation, or to his disobedience to that 
law that would have kept him from falling, and pre- 
served him faultless in the sight of his Maker. Hence 
we see the fitness of the command of Jesus, to watch 
and pray, and that continually, lest ye enter into 
temptation. This, my friends, is a great duty, the 
first step towards our preservation from evil; and 
Jesus knowing that the soul of man (that nature 
which alone can rise or fall, as it regards spiritual 
things,) was pure as it came from its Divine author, 
therefore warned them to watch lest thev entered 



JOHN JACKSON. 



(57 



into temptation. The gospel teaches us that we are 
not only to guard the avenues of the heart against 
the admission of evil, but to labour in the attainment 
of good, as Jesus illustrated in this beautiful parable 
of the sower sowing good seed, wherein he pointed 
out, not innate depravity, but original virtue, and 
angelic purity. It seems to me, that if the preach- 
ing of the present age had this end in view, that 
there would soon be a manifest advancement in the 
religious world, towards a more exalted state of 
righteousness than now exists. I know that many 
will shrink back and hide themselves behind the cur- 
tain of a dark and mysterious theology, at the very 
thought of there being any thing in man that is of a 
divine character, that is pure and undefiled, for the 
opposite doctrine is taught, that we are by nature 
the children of wrath; that we are aliens to God, to 
truth, to holiness, and to every thing that is pure. A 
doctrine the very opposite of that which the apostle 
taught, who declared, that sin originated in every 
man as he was drawn away of his own lust and en- 
ticed, and not in consequence of the sins or trans- 
gressions of another, as imposed upon mankind by 
the popular creeds; and the religious world is filled 
with theological fictions concerning the origin of 
evil, in which man is represented to be a sinner by 
nature, coming into the world in a state of separa- 
tion from God ; and sin is attributed, not so much to 
our own transgressions as to some supposed guilt 
entailed upon us by the transgressions of others. 
And what does all this appear to be for ? Why so 
much exertion to prove the total depravity of man ? 



(58 



SERMONS BY 



It is for no other purpose than to magnify the neces- 
sity of a scheme of redemption as full of absurdity as 
it is possible for error to make it — the doctrine of 
the vicarious atonement. Instead of religion being 
held up as something that is plain and easily under- 
stood, it is made to consist of erroneous opinions 
concerning the origin of evil, and of man's redemp- 
tion from it by the outward sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 
I would not be considered as casting uncharitable 
reflections upon any of my fellow professors, who 
may entertain opinions like these ; all I ask is that I 
may not be required to subscribe to doctrines which, 
in my view 7 , are utterly repugnant to every principle 
of justice, mercy, truth and love. Far be it from me 
to condemn my brother or my sister who may enter- 
tain different views on these subjects. While I 
honestly dissent from opinions that I cannot adopt, 
without a sacrifice of reason and a disregard of the 
convictions of truth on my own mind, I wish not to 
condemn any, but I must bear my testimony to what 
I consider the erroneous opinions that are promul- 
gated as a part of the religion of Jesus. My object 
is mainly to enforce the observance of those princi- 
ples of righteousness and of truth, without which no 
man, whatever his name to religion may be, can 
ever stand accepted in the Divine sight. Religion, 
in my view, does not consist in our systems of faith, 
in subscribing to any particular creed, or in the ob- 
servance of any external rituals. It requires some- 
thing more than all this. " Pure religion, undefiled 
before God is this, to visit the fatherless and the 
widow in their afflictions, and keep ourselves un- 



JOHN JACKSON. 69 

spotted from the world." This was the religion of our 
great example, and it should become ours. He was 
no respecter of persons. His mission of gospel love 
was not to a few, but to all. He embraced within 
his holy mission the very ends of the earth. " Come 
unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and 
I will give you rest; and take my yoke upon you, and 
learn of me, and ye shall find rest to your souls." 
What is comprehended in the command, " Take my 
yoke upon you?" Is it not our daily obedience to 
that " law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus," which 
Paul declared " made him free from the law of sin 
and death?" 

If we are to be preserved from falling into tempta- 
tion and a snare, we must watch unto prayer; if w r e 
are to be set free from sin and death, it must be by 
our obedience to this " law of the spirit of life in 
Christ. Jesus." Now there is no mystery in this doc- 
trine, for there is as certainly a manifestation of the 
Divine will to mankind now as there ever was since 
the first period of human existence. And this will is 
manifested to us in the same manner that it has ever 
been revealed to man, through a spiritual medium. 
The same voice who addressed to Adam the lan- 
guage, " Where art thou," discovered to him the 
state and condition of his soul ; pointed out the cause 
and consequences of his alienation from God, and 
that the only hope of his return consisted in obe- 
dience to the quickening operation of the Spirit, 
which is represented under the figure of a "flaming 
sword turning every way to guard the way of the 
tree of life." This voice speaks to us in precisely 



7Q SERMONS BY 

the same manner. We are not to be so outward as 
to suppose that the Almighty Jehovah was ever seen 
with mortal eye, or his voice heard with mortal ear. 
Jesus declared, " No man hath seen God at any time, 
the only begotten of the Father he hath revealed 
him." When we read of the voice of the Lord being 
heard in the cool of the day, or accompanied by the 
thunderings and lightnings of Sinai — speaking to pa- 
triarchs, prophets and apostles ; when we read of 
Moses speaking with the Almighty, face to face, and 
other similar expressions, we must look beyond the 
figurative style of the record, to the operation of 
Divine power upon the minds of men. Divine reve- % 
lation is a plain and simple thing. It is not, as some 
suppose, limited in its operation, or confined to any 
single portion of mankind. It did not cease, as some 
assert, when the last Scripture-writer laid down his 
pen, but it continues to be manifested to us. We are 
the objects of our heavenly Father's regard. He has 
not only given us the light of the sun to illuminate 
the outward world, but he makes it to shine upon the 
evil and the good, the just and the unjust. And in 
the spiritual world there is the same universal diffu- 
sion of light that constitutes in the outward a monu- 
ment of the benevolence of its Author. This light 
makes manifest to man the duties that are required 
of him, thus making the declaration of Paul true: 
" The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath ap- 
peared unto all men, teaching us that denying ungod- 
liness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, right- 
eously, and godly in this present world." If we are 
prepared to subscribe to the doctrine that Divine 



JOHN JACKSON. 



71 



grace hath appeared unto all men, and that it teaches 
them to deny all ungodliness, and live righteously in 
this present world, then we can understand, to what 
Jesus directed the attention of the people, and to 
what the ministry of the gospel should still direct 
them — obedience to this light. For just in propor- 
tion as we are obedient to it, we increase in the know- 
ledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, " and go on add- 
ing to our faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to know- 
ledge patience, to patience temperance, to temperance 
godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, to brother- 
ly kindness charity." When we have gained all 
these then are we Christ-like; and the apostle says, 
if we continue to do these things we shall never fall, 
our knowledge of Christ will be saving, and an en- 
trance gained into his " everlasting kingdom." Now, 
if the attention of the people was turned to the opera- 
tion of Divine grace, implanted in their hearts, it 
would lead them step by step unto a knowledge of 
those things which pertain to the kingdom of heaven. 
It was because the Jews were not willing to rely upon 
the teaching of Divine grace, that Christ was reject- 
ed by them. Hence they persecuted and crucified 
Him who had been sent amongst them with the mes- 
sage of salvation. They were more attached to the 
traditions of men than the commandment of God. 
The simple truths of the gospel could meet with no 
favour while their reliance was upon a ceremonial 
and outward religion. The precepts of their law 
allowed " an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" 
— permitted them to "hate their enemies," and to 
return " evil for evil." They could practice their 



+f2 SERMONS BY 

religion and still indulge the spirit of revenge and 
retaliation. But the precepts of the gospel inculcated 
directly to the opposite doctrine — the axe was to be 
laid at the root of the tree of evil ; and a religious life 
was to consist in obedience to the Divine spirit and 
in love to man. 

Now, my great concern is — and I desire to im- 
press it upon our minds, that we may observe the 
injunction to watch and pray, lest we enter into 
temptation — that we may overcome the " lusts of the 
flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life" — and 
be able to say with the apostle, "There is now there- 
fore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Je- 
sus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." 
What is this walking after the Spirit? We have an 
animal and a spiritual life, and as " one star differeth 
from another star in glory," so doth the greatness of 
the spiritual exceed the glory of the natural. The spi- 
ritual nature is that life which is "breathed into man 
and makes him a living soul. These tabernacles that 
compose the " terrestrial body" shall return again to 
dust. The spiritual nature constituting the " celestial 
body," is designed to live for ever. The great end of 
life can only be answered as this spiritual nature is 
prepared to enjoy the fountain from which it sprang. 
The beautiful design of the gospel is to elevate us 
above the earthly unto the heavenly nature — to give 
us the victory over the world, and prepare us for 
the society of sanctified spirits, not only now, but 
when time to us shall be no more. The gospel brings 
immortality to light, by putting us in possession of 



JOHN JACKSON. 73 

those treasures which " moth and rust cannot cor- 
rupt, or thieves break through and steal." 

Let us then walk after the Spirit, in the light of 
this gospel, that when we are required to render an 
account of our stewardship we may be prepared to 
do it with the assurance of eternal union and com- 
munion with our Father in heaven. Let us examine 
the ground upon which we stand, and in what our 
religion consists. Let us examine our own minds, 
and see how far we have witnessed the Christ-like 
nature to govern us — to regulate our conduct— to 
preserve and save us from evil. Have we guarded 
" the avenues of the heart against the admission of 
evil?' Has the sin that doth so easily beset us been 
overcome and subdued? Are w 7 e conforming our 
lives to the example of Jesus? These are subjects 
that have an important bearing upon our present and 
future well-being. Let us seriously consider them. 
If we imitate the example of Jesus, our religion will 
be practical. Let us remember, that " if any man 
have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his ;" and 
if we possess the " spirit of Christ," our minds will 
be clothed with love to God and our fellow-creatures; 
we shall fulfil the duties we owe to our Creator and 
one to another, and day by day we shall be engaged 
to " add to our faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to 
knowledge patience, to patience temperance, to tem- 
perance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, 
and to brotherly kindness charity." And when we 
have made these heavenly attainments w T e shall be 
prepared to adopt as our own the language of Jesus: 
7 



74 SERMONS BY 

" Father I have glorified thee on the earth, I have 
finished the work which thou gavest me to do." 

[Here the speaker sat down, and in a short time 
rose and added:] 

The language of the poet, " Know then thyself, 
enough for man to know," has been presented with 
instruction to my view. It is well for us to know 
ourselves; we may often derive encouragement and 
strength, by looking at the sources of good within 
our own minds. It is there the silent voice of truth 
is heard, and known and felt. And often this voice 
will be as a ministering spirit — an angel of light that 
will instruct and comfort us when all other sources 
of encouragement and comfurt have failed. We need 
spiritual as well as physical strength, and as the lat- 
ter is promoted by exercise, so will the former be in- 
creased by the proper employment of the gifts and 
talents w T e possess. It is thus that we shall become 
qualified to perform our mission of the gospel of 
Christ. What is this mission? If a brother or sister 
be overtaken with a fault, we should endeavour to 
restore such a one in the spirit of meekness and love, 
remembering ourselves lest we also be tempted. Our 
Christian duties often consist in little things, and it is 
a wise declaration, that " he that is faithful in a lit- 
tle shall be made ruler over more." By our obedi- 
ence in little things we shall find that the field of duty 
and usefulness will enlarge, and we shall discover 
that there is no time for us to stand idle in the mar- 
ket-place, saying, " no man hath hired me." When 
we look around us we see the harvest is plenteous, 
while the labourers are few. In everv work of reli- 



JOHN JACKSON. 75 

gion, benevolence, and humanity, the call has gone 
forth, "enter into my vineyard and labour, and what- 
soever is right ye shall receive." Time is swiftly 
drawing to a close, and it will soon be lost forever 
in the darkness of that night in which no man can 
work, and we are as fully convinced of this truth, 
that life must be followed by death, as we are of the 
change from day to night in the outward world. 
Some of us have reached the sixth, some the ninth, 
and some the eleventh hour ; and it becomes a ques- 
tion of the greatest importance to us to know that we 
are so labouring in the Lord's vineyard as to realize 
our penny. 

I feel the magnitude of the subject when I consider 
my own latter end. I am conscious that the present 
probation has its limits and they will soon be reached. 
I feel the necessity of faithfulness to truth and duty, 
and I desire above all things for myself and fellow- 
creatures, that w r e may make our "calling and elec- 
tion sure." I am satisfied, my friends, that if we live 
up to the knowledge that is received, the end of our 
being will be answered; we shall glorify God upon 
earth, enjoy his presence here and for ever. Oh, my 
friends, let us not be idle, but enter into the garden 
of our own minds and labour. There is a work there 
that is needful for us to perform — " man know thy- 
self, enough for man to know." If w 7 e turn within 
ourselves we shall discover that the fountain of truth 
— of love — of light — is not far from any one of us. 
God is that fountain, and in him " w T e live and move, 
and have our being." Oh ! blessed privilege, that we 
should have access to the source of all good, and 



75 SERMONS BY 

have no more need that any man should instruct us 
in Divine things, than we have of trusting to others 
the salvation of our souls. The work of salvation be- 
longs to us as individual heirs of immortality and 
eternal life, and it must be begun, carried on, and 
completed by our faithfulness and obedience to God. 
No man or woman ever performed an act of duty in 
accordance with the convictions of truth, who did 
not feel the reward of " well done, good and faith- 
ful servant." Well, my friends, if we have been 
rewarded for faithfulness in little things it should 
stimulate us to press forward towards the " mark 
for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
Jesus," and lead us to extend the invitation to others, 
to come and see how good the Lord is. Then should 
we be blessed by religious association, our spiritual 
strength would be renewed; the strong would en- 
courage the weak, and when permitted to mingle 
with minds engaged in spiritual devotion, we should 
feel that w T e were in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 
enjoying that unity of spirit on earth which shall 
bind the just of all generations together in the king- 
dom of heaven. 



JOHN JACKSON. 77 



SERMON VII. 

DELIVERED AT FRIENDS' MEETING, CHERRY STREET, PHILADEL- 
1'HIA, IN THE EVENING OF FIRST MONTH 20th, 1850. 

" I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is 
the power of God unto salvation to every one that 
believeth." 

I am a believer in the doctrine, that the gospel of 
Christ is " the power of God unto salvation," preach- 
ed to every rational soul, in a manner so plain and 
intelligible, that all can understand it, and that the 
effects of obedience to its teachings, are the same in 
all ages of the world, and among all people, for it 
leads invariably to a life of devotion to God, and of 
usefulness to man. The great change that was effect- 
ed in the conduct and experience of the apostle who 
made use of the expressions I have quoted, was pro- 
duced according to his own testimony, when consult- 
ing not with flesh and blood, he gave up to the hea- 
venly illuminations of truth upon his own mind, and 
was thus brought out of darkness into light, and from 
under the power and dominion of hatred and error, 
into the blessed liberty of the children of God. He 
could then say, " there is now, therefore, no con- 
demnation to them that are in Christ Jesus* who walk 
not after the flesh, but after the spirit, for the law of 
the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath set me free from 
the law of sin and death." The evident design of the 
gospel is to bring us into a state of blessedness, to 

7* 



7g SERMOXS BY 

lead us out of all error, into truth and righteousness. 
Since we have been together on the present occa- 
sion, this state, described by the apostle, as being 
without condemnation, has been presented to the view 
of my mind in such a light, that I have desired all in 
this assembly might see the beauty, simplicity and 
purity of the Christian's life, and desire to make it 
our's for its own eternal excellence, that we might 
realize the blessed enjoyment inseparable from con- 
tinual obedience to the will of our Father who is in 
heaven. We bear the name of Christians among 
men, but the Christian religion does not consist in a 
name or profession of religion — not in word, but in 
deed — not in any cunningly devised fable, nor in 
every " wind of doctrine, and cunning craftiness of 
men, wherein they lie in wait to deceive," but in 
obedience to Christ. The Christian character so re- 
markable for its simplicity and purity, is easily dis- 
tinguished from every thing of an opposite nature 
that has assumed its name. We have an infallible 
criterion by which it is to be known. When the 
blessed Jesus was engaged in the work of his mis- 
sion, he told his disciples, that they should be judged 
by their fruits, and the rule is as applicable to us as 
to them. How simple is the test. " By their fruits 
ye shall know them; men do not gather grapes of 
thorns, or figs of thistles." The Christian is known 
by his fruits. "Not every one that saith unto me 
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom, but he that 
doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven," 
was another declaration of Jesus, pointing to the 
same thing, and showing that a profession to religion 



JOHN JACKSON. 



79 



does not always imply that we have come to the 
kingdom of God. 

Now, my friends, if I have any work to do in the 
gospel, it is not to be engaged in the defence of any 
of the speculative opinions, theories of religion, or 
systems of faith which have so unhappily led to strife 
and contention amongst men, but rather to bring be- 
fore our view the practical and vital part of Chris- 
tianity, to show us the necessity of daily obedience 
to Christ, that we may exhibit those fruits of righte- 
ousness by which the followers of Jesus will ever be 
known, and by which alone we can prove to others 
that we are " not ashamed of that gospel which is 
the power of God unto salvation, to every one that 
believeth." I consider it of no importance to make 
declarations of a belief in Christ, or in any thing else 
that pertains to religion, if our conduct does not cor- 
respond with our belief and profession ; and yet we 
see how much dependence is placed upon a name 
to religion ; how strenuously men are defending their 
opinions of Christ ; their conflicting creeds and sys- 
tems of faith ; their forms and ceremonies, as though 
these constituted vital religion. Christ is not divided. 
It is in vain for us to say, " I am of Paul ; and I of 
Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ." We 
have need to observe the command of Jesus — "If 
any man shall say unto you, lo, here is Christ, or 
there, believe it not, the kingdom of God is within 
you." The visible church has become scattered and 
divided amidst the conflict of opinions, and the strife 
of tongues which so unhappily prevail at the expense 
of practical and vital religion. Whatever we may pro- 



g0 SERMONS BY 

fess, however beautiful may be our theory of reli- 
gion, or however strictly we may observe external 
forms, if we neglect to fulfil the every-day duties of 
life, our cry of " Lord, Lord, open unto us," will be 
as ineffectual and unavailing as the cry of the foolish 
virgins in the parable, who had no oil in their vessels, 
and whose lamps had gone out. Now, my friends, 
I consider there is no subject of so much importance 
to us as that of religion, rightly understood and car- 
ried out in practice. Our present and eternal well- 
being is involved in it. But it consists not in a name 
— not in a belief in any system of faith — not in the 
observance of any form ; it is beautifully described 
by the Apostle James in these words : " Pure religion, 
and undefiled before God and the Father, is this, to 
visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, 
and to keep himself unspotted from the world." 

Religion becomes practical and useful, or theoreti- 
cal and speculative, according to the standard we 
adopt, by which the truth of all doctrines and prin- 
ciples regulating human conduct is to be tested ; and 
whatever difference of opinion may exist on this sub- 
ject, one thing is certain, that if we take the example 
of Jesus as the standard, for the " perfect and upright 
man," there can be no misunderstanding as to what 
the primary obligations of religion are, for none will 
deny that he was continually engaged in doing the 
will of his heavenly Father ; in proving his love to 
God, by doing good to man. The work of his mis- 
sion was clearly defined when he entered the syna- 
gogue and read these words from the book of the 
prophet Esaias : '*' The spirit of the Lord is upon me, 



JOHN JACKSON. gj 

because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to 
the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted; 
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering 
of sight to the blind ; to set at liberty them that are 
bruised ; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."' 
Is the life and example of Jesus made the standard of 
the popular religion of our day? I believe not. The 
standard is in opinion rather than practice. In pro- 
fessions of faith rather than works. There are great 
efforts made to set up written tests of sound doctrine, 
to call the people more to an opinionative and specu- 
lative religion than to practical righteousness, and 
hence a great deal of the profession of religion is but 
"as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal." What 
has been gained by calling men to creeds and theories 
of religion, or even to those writings to which w 7 e give 
the appellation of Scriptures of Truth? If we are to 
judge the state of the Christian church by the fruits 
that have been exhibited, this practice has not pro- 
moted that harmony and charity which are indispen- 
sable to the Christian character. Almost every sect 
in Christendom call the Scriptures their rule of faith 
and practice, they look to them as the highest oracle 
of truth, and many go so far as to style them the 
infallible word of God ; and yet it is an undeniable 
truth, that there is as wide a difference among them 
as there is between Jew and Christian, Pagan and 
Mahometan. Let us look for the proof of this to the 
scenes of strife and contention, the bigotry and in- 
tolerance that have been manifested by sect towards 
sect, and we shall see with all this professed reve- 
rence for the Scriptures, there is a great want of that 



82 SERMONS BY 

fundamental principle of which the blessed Jesus 
spoke when he said, " By this shall all men know 
that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to 
another." How sad is the retrospect of the past, and 
how much to be regretted the present divided state 
of Christians. The warrior does not display more 
bitterness of spirit in the field of carnage than is often 
manifested by these towards each other, and yet the 
persecuted and the persecutors alike go to the Scrip- 
tures to establish their respective creeds and sys- 
tems of faith. Influenced by a blind and superstitious 
veneration for the letter, men have conceived that 
others must necessarily understand it as themselves, 
and from this cause thousands of martyrs, whose 
lives have been spotless in the sight of heaven, have 
been required to seal their testimony with their blood. 
A slight difference of opinion in the interpretations of 
Scripture has given rise to angry controversy and 
sectarian prejudice, that have not unfrequently led 
the disputants into the field of slaughter, where they 
have committed the deplorable folly of testing the 
orthodoxy of their creeds by the victories of battle. 
Now we see that harmony and love, becoming the 
followers of Christ, does not abound among those 
w T ho say that the Scriptures are their rule of faith 
and practice, neither has the church been " brought 
out of the wilderness of lifeless forms and ceremonies 
to lean on the bosom of its beloved." It is not only 
in reference to abstract doctrines and opinions that 
this diversity of view exists, but also upon some of 
the plainest questions of righteousness and morality, 
there is a wide difference of opinion or understand- 



JOHN JACKSON. g3 

ing of Scripture. Thus we find that monstrous viola- 
tion of human rights which dooms to hopeless servi- 
tude millions of our fellow-men. and places them on 
a level with the beasts of the field, is attempted to be 
defended as a Divine institution by the authority of 
Scripture. By many the Bible is appealed to in order 
to prove that wars and fightings, and even the indis- 
criminate massacre of an entire nation' of people, has 
been carried on by positive Divine command, and 
that the barbarous custom of inflicting the punish- 
ment of death is an institution of Jehovah, binding 
upon the present, as well as upon past generations of 
men. Now, while the Scriptures admit of such va- 
rious and contradictory interpretations — while there 
continues to be so much controversy with regard to 
their meaning — while no two sects can comprehend 
them alike, it proves, with the clearness of a moral 
demonstration, that they do not come up to the stan- 
dard of a rule so plain, that the " way-faring man, 
though a fool, cannot misunderstand it;" and, there- 
fore they are not an adequate rule, nor the primary 
standard of faith and practice, which would be plain 
and self-evident. There is a higher standard of faith 
and practice than the Scriptures. It is comprehend- 
ed in the words of Jesus, to which I have already 
alluded — " By their fruits ye shall know them." The 
most certain test of sound doctrine, is a sound life — 
a holy life — a life in which all the Christian virtues 
are daily exhibited. How true is the expression of 
the poet : — 

" For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight, 
His can't be wrong whose life is in the right." 



Q4 SERMONS BY 

It is a doctrine universally true and self-evident, 
that if the fruit be good, the tree that produces it 
must be good also; and no sophistry of man, no fine 
spun theory of religion, can alter or amend an infal- 
lible criterion like this. It was in agreement with 
this great natural and universal truth that Jesus gave 
his precept ; and until the religious world adopt this 
as the standara by which the value of all doctrines of 
religion or morality shall be estimated — until they 
come to judge of men's fitness for heaven, by the 
fruits of their lives and not by their creeds, there 
w T ill continue to be the same confusion of language 
and strife of tongues — the same sectarian animosity 
that has, in times past, and still continues to "divide 
in Jacob and scatter Israel." 

Perhaps some will say, that in making these re- 
marks, I am undervaluing the Scriptures and making 
them of no account — I think otherwise. Upon this 
subject it seems right that I should further enlarge. 
I desire not to be misunderstood. I have loved to 
read the Scriptures from my childhood up to the pre- 
sent hour ; some of the earliest religious impressions 
that memory can recall, accompanied the perusal of 
the experience of the righteous that is there recorded. 
I recur now to an incident connected with my earliest 
religious convictions, so memorable to me, that it will 
be lasting as life itself, in which my mind in the in- 
fancy of experience was led to feel and admire the 
truth of some of these Scripture declarations. I had 
learned to repeat that beautiful prayer which Jesus 
taught his disciples, and often to open my lips with 
the language, " Our Father, who art in heaven." In 



JOHN JACKSON. Q5 

the spirit of inquiry natural to childhood, I was led 
on one of those occasions of retirement, that I had 
been taught was necessary to effectual prayer, to put 
this question to myself, what good can it do me to 
repeat these w r ords, or how shall I be benefited by 
the use of this prayer ? I was seeking after truth, 
and in the silence that followed the inquiry, my un- 
derstanding was addressed by a language like this — 
The value of thy prayer depends upon the spirit in 
which it is made. Oh, the impressions of that hour 
have followed me through life, and I shall carry the 
remembrance thereof with me to the grave ; and I 
wish I could convey to others the convictions I have 
received myself, that however much we may read 
the Scriptures, or repeat the declarations of good 
men that we find there recorded, they can be of no 
value to us, only as w r e are brought into a state of 
mind in which we can make those declarations our's. 
Then only can we say with truth, " Our Father, who 
art in heaven, hallowed be thy name ; thy kingdom 
come, thy will be done on earth, as it is done in hea- 
ven." I say then, I have loved the Scriptures from 
my childhood. The truths contained in them I have 
ever held in high esteem. For fifteen years I have 
laboured in this vineyard, and I know not that I have 
ever been called to speak in the assemblies of the 
people but it has been my lot to refer to the testi- 
monies of Scripture, while engaged in the w T ork of 
the ministry; and whenever I have quoted them, it 
has been from a conviction of their truth. If this is 
not evidence of my regard for the Scriptures I need 
offer no other. 
8 



g$ SERMONS BY 

But while I have read with instruction and encou- 
ragement the many declarations of truth which they 

contain, I cannot call the Bible the word of God; 

# 

I cannot look to it as the highest oracle of truth, for 
I believe the immediate and inward teaching of the 
Holy Spirit is as much above any of the writings of 
men as the heavens are higher than the earth. 

The Bible was w r ritten by men, and like every 
other human work, it is liable to imperfection and 
error, and I believe that those who are undertaking 
to prove that every thing which is contained within 
its lids is a Divine revelation, are doing the Scrip- 
tures and the cause of truth more harm than all the 
open infidelity with which they have ever been as- 
sailed. We are commanded to "try the spirits;" we 
must try the " letter" also, by the light of truth in our 
own minds, which is " Christ in you the hope of 
glory." When we come to be taught by him we 
shall have our spiritual vision opened, and be able to 
discriminate between that which is written by inspi- 
ration of God, and that which has proceeded from 
the commandments and traditions of men. The 
Scriptures do not point to themselves as a sufficient 
rule of life, but they tell us to "mark the perfect man, 
and behold the upright, for the end of that man is 
peace." How true is this declaration — the end of 
the perfect and the upright man is peace — peace 
with God, and peace with all men, it is the highest 
state of excellence to which in the present life we 
can attain. 

Oh, my brethren, let me ask you to consider the 
importance of this distinguishing virtue and upright- 



JOHN JACKSON. Q7 

ness. It is this that gives true dignity and honour to 
human conduct, it lies at the very foundation of a 
moral and religious reputation, and if we fail to carry 
it out in our intercourse with each other, we can 
never maintain an unblemished life among men. Up- 
rightness leads to strict integrity, justice, and the love 
of truth, in all the common affairs of life. The reli- 
gion of the " perfect and the upright man" is for 
every day. It is not to be put off and on like a gar- 
ment. It is blended with all our intercourse with the 
world, and will so regulate our conduct, that we shall 
never sacrifice our integrity for the love of gain. 1 
fear we are not sufficiently guarded on this subject. 
I wish we may keep the eye single to the truth, and 
carry out to the very letter that admirable precept of 
Jesus, " Whatsoever ye would that men should do 
unto you, do ye even so to them." If the principle 
of uprightness were carried out in all the concerns of 
life, what examples of honesty would be seen on 
every hand ; we could do no wrong to our fellow-men, 
for we should see that the deceiver was in the spirit 
of anti-Christ, and that to practice deception, is to 
" crucify afresh the Son of God, and put him to open 
shame." Now when I consider the character of the 
" perfect and the upright man," when I reflect that 
honesty, justice and uprightness, constitute the certain 
path to happiness and peace, it appears to me to be a 
mark of short-sightedness — a want of true wisdom on 
our part to neglect those duties, and by so doing, 
barter away an inheritance infinitely more valuable 
than all the treasures and honours this world can 
afford. 



8Q SERMONS BY 

Time, my friends, is swiftly passing away, and to 
us it will soon be no more ; we are rapidly following 
those who have gone before us to the house appointed 
for the living, and thus we have the timely admoni- 
tion that here we have " no continuing city ;" that 
the present is not our final home ; that death is in- 
evitable, and the eternal future near at hand. Should 
not these reflections stir up the pure mind in us, to 
contemplate with seriousness the great design of life, 
the obligations we are under to the Author of our 
Being, and the duties we owe to each other as child- 
ren of one common Father. We should not be dis- 
couraged thereby, but stimulated to improve our time, 
to apply our hearts to wisdom, to remember our latter 
end. What value do we set on time? It is an in- 
estimable treasure, a sacred trust committed to our 
care. Shall we squander it away, and torture our 
existence by abuse and by folly? No. Let us im- 
prove it to the glory of God, and our own good. 
Cultivate the garden of our own minds. We have 
many gifts and talents bestowed upon us by a benevo- 
lent Creator, and they are intended to be improved, 
that the soul may be expanded and prepared to en- 
joy the infinite Fountain from which it sprang. 
Among these endowments of the Creator, is included 
our intellectual nature, which is as much a gift of 
God, as the gift of grace, and we are as responsible 
for the culture and improvement of the one, as of the 
other. I have no idea that such a noble talent is to 
be buried in the earth, that it is to be employed 
merely in procuring food and raiment for these frail 
temples which are soon to moulder in the dust. Far 






JOHN JACKSON. qq 

otherwise. There is a beautiful relation between 
mind and matter, between the works of God, and our 
capacity to contemplate them. "The heavens de- 
clare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his 
handy work." We need not go after fiction, for 
every page of the great volume of nature is full of 
living and instructive truth. Placed in the midst of 
a beautiful creation, we are invited to meditate on 
the workmanship of its Author, and such an exercise 
of the intellect is profitable to us, for it leads to 
humility, and while it makes manifest the feebleness 
of man, exalts our views of the wisdom, goodness, 
and power of the Creator, and shows us that order is 
" heaven's first law." The study of nature is not in- 
compatible with true devotion to God. The right 
improvement of the spiritual and intellectual gifts be- 
stowed upon us by the Giver of all good, will lead 
into the same train of reflections that called forth this 
acknowledgment from a Christian philosopher : " O 
thou, who by the light of nature, dost kindle in us a 
desire after the light of grace, that by it we may 
reach the light of thy glory ; I give thee thanks, O 
Lord and Creator, that thou hast gladdened me by 
thy Creation, when I was enraptured by the work of 
thy hands." It will enable us to adopt the sentiment 
of the Psalmist : " When I consider thy heavens, the 
work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which 
thou hast ordained ; what is man that thou art mind- 
ful of him, and the Son-of-man that thou visitest him?" 
And when we are thus humbled by the contemplation 
of our comparative nothingness, amidst the immen- 
sity of creation, we shall learn what constitutes the 

8* 



90 SERMONS BY 

true greatness of man. " Thou hast made him a little 
lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with 
glory and honour. Thou madest him to have domin- 
ion over the works of thy hands : thou hast put all 
things under his feet. O Lord, our Lord, how ex- 
cellent is thy name in all the earth !" 

Here is portrayed the final destiny of man. "Thou 
hast crowded him with glory and honour." Thus 
opening to his view the sublime doctrine of the soul's 
immortality, and the joys and prospects that stand 
connected with an eternal world. 

Oh, my friends, we are invited to lay hold of this 
crown of life, which is the reward of the perfect and 
the upright man. Let us keep this great object of 
our being in view, follow the example of Jesus, seek 
after inward and spiritual communion with the Infi- 
nite Mind, that we may be rightly instructed in the 
duties of life; and as w r e are obedient to all the re- 
vealings of Divine truth, we shall be governed by the 
same rule, and mind the same thing that has enabled 
the righteous of past ages to walk with God ; and we 
also shall be numbered at last with the just of all 
generations, made perfect in the kingdom of heaven. 

" God, thus to thee our lowly thoughts shall soar, 
Thus seek thy presence, Being, wise and good 
'Midst thy vast works ; admire, obey, adore, 
And when the tongue is eloquent no more, 
The soul shall speak in tears of gratitude. ,, 



JOHN JACKSON. <J| 



SERMON VIII. 

DELIVERED AT FRIENDS' MEETING, GREEN STREET, PHILADEL- 
PHIA, THIRD MONTH 10th, 1850. 

If the records of the past may be taken in evi- 
dence, I think we have a right to infer that mankind 
have always been disposed to the reverence of a 
superior power ; for it does not appear on the pages 
of history that there ever was a time, since the crea- 
tion of man, when the acknowledgment of a belief in 
the existence of a Supreme Governor of the universe, 
and of man's accountability to him for his course of 
conduct, was not made : and so far as our knowledge 
of the present inhabitants of the globe has extended, 
this view is confirmed; for we have an evidence, 
even among those nations who are sunk to the great- 
est degree in ignorance and idolatry, that all traces 
of this belief have not waned into total extinction. 
It is no argument against the universality of such a 
conviction, that this simple belief has been embar- 
rassed and encumbered by false notions and opinions 
concerning the Divine character — the relation that 
exists between man and his Maker — and the duties 
and obligations that the creature owes to the Creator. 
For, although in the darkness of the human under- 
standing, it has been burdened with false notions of 
the adoration which is his due — with senseless forms 
and ceremonies which have been founded in super- 
stition, and have led to all manner of idolatry and 
error, still there are evidences that from the human 



92 SERMONS BY 

mind this conviction of the existence of a Supreme 
Being has not been wholly eradicated. 

It would seem to be impossible to account for the 
universality of this belief, unless we adopt a view 
which is abundantly illustrated in the Scriptures, con- 
firmed and enforced by the testimony of human ex- 
perience in all ages, that it is the " same God that 
worketh all in all," who giveth " a manifestation of 
the spirit to every man to profit withal." The same 
view is represented as a law written upon the heart, 
so effectual and sufficient of itself, to give man a 
knowledge of his Creator, that it is positively declar- 
ed, " they shall teach no more every man his neigh- 
bour, nor every man his brother, saying, know the 
Lord ; for all shall know me from the least of them 
unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord." 

There is abundant testimony of this kind, left upon 
record in the Scriptures and other writings, from 
which we draw the conclusion that Divine goodness 
has not left himself without a witness, but that he has 
communicated a knowledge of his own being and 
nature to all men of every kindred, nation, tongue 
and people, so effectually, as to make the declaration 
of the apostle true, where he says, " Ye have an unc- 
tion from the Holy One, and ye know all things ;" 
" the anointing which ye have received of him abid- 
eth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; 
but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, 
and is truth and is no lie." This " manifestation of 
the spirit" — this " law written on the heart" — this 
" unction" and " anointing" which ye have received, 
is, to use another Scripture expression, the " true 



JOHN JACKSON. 93 

light that lighteth every man that cometh into the 
world," and is what we understand to be, immediate, 
Divine revelation. It is the Deity revealing himself 
to man, and it ever has been, and still continues to be, 
a universal illumination that embraces the whole of 
his rational, intelligent creation. I am aware there 
are many who call this in question, and who presume 
to deny the immediate intercourse between the soul 
and its author ; there are those who assert that im- 
mediate, Divine revelation does not now exist — that 
the period has passed by when it w r as consistent with 
the Infinite Jehovah to unfold immediately to his 
accountable children the knowledge of himself, and 
his will concerning them, by opening before them the 
way in which they should go. Let us examine and 
consider in what this revelation consists. Let us 
open the great volume of our own experience, and 
read attentively the record made upon our own 
minds, and we shall find that so far as it relates to 
ourselves individually, there has been a Divine reve- 
lation to us, and that this has been repeated, day by 
day, and hour by hour. 

It was the declaration of the apostle James, that 
" every good gift and every perfect gift is from 
above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, 
with whom there is neither variableness, neither 
shadow of turning." Every impression of Divine 
truth that man receives, proceeds from our Father in 
heaven, and it is as certainly a Divine revelation to 
him as any opening or manifestation of truth that was 
ever made to any Patriarch, Prophet, or Apostle that 
has gone before him ; and he knows perfectly well, as 



94 SERMONS BY 

be reads this law written on the heart, that his hap- 
piness — his hope of heaven depends upon his obe- 
dience to the light of truth in his own mind. So far 
from this Divine revelation having ceased, it con- 
tinues to impress upon the human soul the image of 
its author ; to give man a knowledge of God; to open 
to all the way in which they should go ; and all who 
obey its teachings — who carry out in the practice of 
life the duties it requires of them, are found fearing 
God and working righteousness ; and whatever their 
name to religion may be, whether Jew or Greek, 
Pagan or Christian, they belong to the church of 
Christ on earth, and will be numbered at last with the 
" general assembly and church of the first born which 
are written in heaven." 

Now, it is because men have forsaken this fountain 
of living instruction, through which a true knowledge 
of the Divine nature is communicated, that their sys- 
tems of religion have become obscured with absurd 
opinions and speculations, and their minds become 
darkened by perverted views of the Deity and of the 
nature of the homage which is his due. Thus dark- 
ness has spread in the earth — the church has gone 
into the wilderness — where, instead of that order, 
harmony and peace, which is typical of the kingdom 
of heaven and the Church of Christ, mystery, confu- 
sion and discord are seen on every side ; and so long 
as religion is made to consist in embracing the views 
and opinions of others — more than in obedience to 
those convictions of truth in our minds, this confusion 
and strife will always continue. We do not suffi- 
ciently consider the relation in which we stand to the 






JOHN JACKSON. 95 

author of our being; for, if the Scripture declaration 
is true, (and I cannot doubt it) " they shall teach no 
more every man his neighbour, and every man his 
brother, saying, know the Lord: for they shall all 
know me, from the least of them to the greatest of 
them," why is it not relied on in practice ? why 
shall man lean upon his fellow ; or be looking to the 
opinions of others for a knowledge of God and his 
truth ? 

Having access to the fountain itself, why shall we 
give up to the keeping and control of others that im- 
mortal spirit which the Creator has bestowed upon 
us ? We should consider ourselves responsible for 
the proper use and exercise of all the gifts and bless- 
ings which we have received. Man inherits from his 
Maker the gift of conscience ; its exercise embraces 
the right of private judgment in all matters pertaining 
to his spiritual well being. In the exercise of this 
right, we may try by the light of truth upon our own 
understanding, all doctrines, opinions, and theories of 
religion that are offered to our acceptance; and if 
they do not accord with the convictions of truth upon 
our own minds, we are at liberty to reject them — yes, 
we are bound to reject them, or else we are making 
a false and dangerous use of the gifts that have been 
bestowed upon us. When the human mind forsakes 
the only infallible teacher, and submits to be enslaved 
by the opinions of men, it is constantly in danger of 
surrendering the inestimable rights of conscience and 
of judgment, and becoming darkened by strange and 
benighted views of the Divine character, is led into 
a multitude of useless forms and observances, and 



96 SERMONS BY 

even into the grossest idolatry. These causes have 
operated unfavourably to human progress, and have 
greatly contributed to the spread of an erroneous 
theology, which has kept man groping his way in 
darkness, a stranger to the road on which he is tra- 
veling, and ignorant of the destiny that awaits him at 
the end of his journey; but, by obedience to these 
simple revelations, man is led out of darkness and 
error into light and truth, and from under the domin- 
ion and power of evil into the liberty of the children 
of God. 

Many are taught by their teachers of religion, that 
they are to receive the knowledge of the truth from 
men, or from the Scriptures, — the " letter' that " kill- 
eth," is placed above the "spirit that giveth life;" 
and thus the mind is drawn away from its own con- 
victions of truth to a dependence upon the opinions 
and teachings of men. " Ye need not that any man 
teach you ;" we are not dependent on man or upon 
books, however good they may be, for Divine truth 
is communicated without their instrumentality. 

I am reminded of the testimony given by an Indian, 
which I heard in this house some years ago, when 
relating the experience of his early life; he declared, 
that before he came within the pale of human civili- 
zation, before he had ever heard the name of Jesus, 
or known the Scriptures, he felt and knew the opera- 
tion of the Holy Spirit; he was conversant with the 
voice of truth in his own breast, and to his great 
astonishment when he came to read the experience 
of others as recorded in the Scriptures, he found it 
ran parallel with his own, and that other minds had 



JOHN JACKSON. 97 

also felt the same impressions of goodness and truth, 
leading them to love God, and to do good to man. 
Were not these Divine revelations? I have heard 
the Mahometan, devotedly attached to the religion of 
his fathers, declare it as his firm and unshaken faith 
that all men of every nation upon the earth received 
immediately from the author of their being, impres- 
sions of divine good. These impressions are Divine 
revelations. The popular opinion maintains that all 
those who have not the Bible are in a state of aliena- 
tion from God, and doomed to eternal perdition. 
This view is held up by some of the high professors 
of Christianity, who seem to think that if they can 
only send the Bible to the heathen, and get them to 
subscribe to their creeds and opinions, that their 
salvation will be secured. Thus the cry of " I am of 
Paul, I of Apollos, I of Cephas, or I am of Christ," 
has gone forth into all lands, professedly for the re- 
covery of our benighted fellow-creatures from idola- 
try to the true worship of God. Let us look at the 
inconsistency, if not the insincerity, of these profes- 
sions for a moment. Do we suppose that even these 
are so totally depraved and wrapped in moral dark- 
ness, as to have the light of heaven entirely shut out 
from them 1 Do we judge them on account of their 
idolatry, and say that every good and virtuous emo- 
tion has been obliterated? When we contemplate 
them standing around their sacrifices and witnessing 
with delight the dying agonies of their human victims, 
or offering their children to idols, shall we say that 
not a single ray of Divine truth has ever penetrated 
their dark and benighted state ? Let us look upon 
9 



93 SERMONS BY 

the other side of the picture ; and our views perhaps 
will be modified by what we find countenanced and 
encouraged by that portion of mankind who enjoy 
the blessings of civilization, who are conversant with 
the writings of the Scriptures, and are acquainted 
with the example and precepts of Jesus as there re- 
corded. We find those who are professing the 
Christian name, and claiming to be the " lights of the 
world," guilty of crimes as enormous in the sight of 
heaven as those of the poor ignorant heathen, when 
he offers his children to idols. Look at the many 
thousands of human sacrifices that the professors of 
the religion of Jesus are offering to the god of war, 
in the unbounded indulgence of passion — at the 
promptings of worldly ambition and revenge. Might 
not the heathen with equal propriety retort upon us 
and say, these Christians are without a single ray of 
Divine truth, or they never would be guilty of so 
much cruelty. While professing Christians are offer- 
ing their thousands and tens of thousands of human 
sacrifices to the god of war, they have little room to 
accuse the heathen of idolatry and wickedness. For 
the day will come when their conduct will be viewed 
by a more enlightened and righteous posterity, with 
the same feelings of abhorrence that we now look 
upon that portion of mankind whom we are seeking 
to reclaim from the moral darkness, ignorance and 
superstition by which they are surrounded. I know 
that this declaration cannot be verified till after the 
lapse of ages, and the testimony of generations that 
are yet unborn; but I am unshaken in the belief, that 
when clear and enlightened views of the Divine 



JOHN JACKSON. 99 

character prevail, — when man comes to see the true 
relation in which he stands to his Creator and to his 
fellow, — when the mists of darkness and error that 
now envelop the minds of men shall be dispelled by 
the light of the sun of righteousness, then war and all 
its kindred evils of violence, oppression and wrong 
will be banished from the earth forever. 

Herein is an inconsistency apparent — that we 
should manifest so much zeal for the conversion of 
others to Christianity — and yet leave untouched and 
unrebuked the vices of Christians themselves. 

What should Christians be 1 " Ye are the light of 
the world," said the blessed Jesus : " A city that is 
set on a hill canno^ be hid." " Let your light so 
shine before men that they may see your good works 
and glorify your Father which is in heaven." We 
claim to have Christ for our teacher and our ex- 
ample ; but this profession is of itself of no value, 
when we consider that it is said, " Not every one 
that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the 
kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my 
Father which is in heaven." 

The credit and honour of a profession to serve 
Christ, is to carry out in the daily practice of life the 
precepts and doctrines of the gospel. Religion does 
not consist in a name, nor are its duties fulfilled by 
subscribing to systems of faith, and to opinions of 
men ; neither does it consist in the observance of 
forms and ceremonies, but in doing the will of our 
Father who is in heaven. I have said this will is 
manifested within us — it is revealed by the voice of 
truth to the soul. And to what does it lead ? It 



100 



SERMONS BY 



never led any man to hate his brother. It teaches 
us to love, not to hate: always to do good, never to 
do evil. Jesus defined the nature of its instructions 
and promptings in the command, " Love your ene- 
mies, bless them that curse you, do good to them 
that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use 
you and persecute you ; that ye may be the children 
of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his 
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendetlf 
rain on the just and on the unjust." 

This, my friends, is practical Christianity. If we 
would reform mankind — if we would become instru- 
ments in gathering others into the fold of Christ — it 
cannot be done by preaching or by circulating the 
Scriptures. We must becom^by our example, "the 
light of the world," we must so live in the practice of 
righteousness, that " others seeing our good icorks, 
may glorify our Father in heaven." 

I desire therefore that our minds may be fully im- 
pressed with the conviction, that pure religion con- 
sists in fulfilling all the duties and obligations of life 
that devolve upon us, as believers in the existence of 
a Supreme Being to whom we are accountable, and 
as followers of Jesus Christ. 

Are there any who can doubt the existence of an 
All-wise Creator ? " The fool hath said in his heart, 
there is no God." I know there are those who 
attempt by the light of reason to shut out the Creator 
from the universe, and to disclaim his superintend- 
ence in the government of the world. Let us ex- 
amine this for a moment, and we shall perceive that 
it is the " fool" only " who hath said in his heart 
there is no God." 



JOHN JACKSON. jqj 

All the deductions of reason are susceptible of proof. 
Every conclusion that the human mind arrives at 
by a process of reasoning, must be sustained by ade- 
quate evidence. If we would prove, by the light of 
reason, that there is no God, we must first show that 
there is no evidence of design — no indications of skill 
— contrivance, or adaption of means to ends, in the 
visible universe: for the moment we admit the evi- 
dence of these, or fail to show that they do not exist, 
we admit at once the certainty of an Intelligent Mind, 
for we cannot conceive of the existence of the one 
without the other. Well, now, if thou would show 
by reason that there is not an Intelligent Creator, let 
me ask thee, to prove that the eye was not made for 
seeing, or the ear for hearing. By what process of 
reason canst thou reach the conclusion that the organ 
of vision was not adapted to the nature of light, or 
that the ear was not constructed in agreement with 
the laws of sound ? Follow up the order of nature 
from the meanest reptile, to that being who is created 
but " little lower than the angels, and crowned with 
glory and honour," and thou will find innumerable 
traces of an Infinite, Intelligent Mind, manifested by 
proofs of design, contrivance, adaptation and skill, 
which thy reason will not permit thee to evade or 
deny. Again, follow up the chain of the material 
creation, from the grain of sand on the sea shore, to 
the contemplation of countless worlds, that are dis- 
tributed over the regions of space, and thou wilt, see 
that order prevails throughout every department of 
nature; that everything is governed by its appropriate 
9* 



I Q2 SERMONS BY 

law. Can law exist without a Lawgiver ? Can order, 
harmony and skill result from any other than an In- 
telligent source ? No, never. Use thy reason rightly, 
and it will convince thee, that without a Creator, 
creation, with its proofs of design, could not have ex- 
isted, and that without the continual exercise of crea- 
tive power, the present order of nature could not for 
a moment continue. Here then we shall find that 
the attempt to reason the Deity out of the universe, is 
to abase this noble gift ; while its proper exercise and 
deductions lead us to the same conclusion that the 
Apostle arrived at, when he said, " The invisible 
things of him from the creation of the world are 
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are 
made, even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that 
they are without excuse." Leaving then those proofs 
of the existence of a Creator, inscribed upon all his 
works, and w 7 hich the light of reason unfolds, let us 
turn the attention of him that doubts, to that which is 
passing within his own breast. Whence is that moral 
responsibility, that attaches itself to every part of 
human conduct? Why do we know and feel the dis- 
tinction between right and wrong, truth and error ? 
It is because we are accountable beings, and have a 
measure of this light " that lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world." This that I first alluded to, 
as being sufficient to give us a true knowledge of the 
Creator, and of the duties and obligations that we 
owe to him, and to our fellow-creatures. This light 
is not of man, but of God. 

Here our mission must end. We can commend 
one another to " God and the word of his grace, 



JOHN JACKSON. 



103 



which is able to build you up, and to give you an in- 
heritance among all them which are sanctified." We 
can direct one another to those convictions of truth, 
by which the understanding may be opened to com- 
prehend the purity and eternal excellence of the 
Divine nature, and the soul led step by step to realize 
the joys of heaven. We are progressive beings. 
Progression and development are laws of our being. 
It is true in the natural, and it is no less true 
in the spiritual world. The Apostle defined this 
when he says, " We know in part, w r e prophesy in 
part ; but when that which is perfect is come, that 
which is in part shall be done away. When I was a 
child, I thought as a child, I spake as a child, I un- 
derstood as a child ; but when I became a man I put 
away childish things." Now this is true in a spiritual 
sense. It is little by little that our minds become en- 
larged to see the beauty and truth of the religion of 
Jesus, and to experience the blessings that are inse- 
parably connected with the practice thereof. What 
was the language of Jesus ? " Blessed are the meek, 
for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the mer- 
ciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the 
pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are 
the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children 
of God." Do we not see that we can never enjoy 
these blessings, till w T e come into the possession of 
these heavenly virtues 1 Are not meekness, purity, 
mercy, peace, angels of light sent forth to minister to 
all them who are heirs of salvation; and does not the 
presence of these, and similar powers, destroy their 
opposites in the soul 1 The angel of love overcomes 



104 



SERMONS BY 



the devil of hatred, the light of justice warns us 
against all injustice, mercy preserves us from cruelty, 
humility subdues pride, and the angel of hope over- 
comes the demon of despair. As these gain the as- 
cendency in the soul, we become Christ-like, and are 
made partakers of a heavenly kingdom. 

This is the religion of Jesus. These are the states 
of which he spoke when he said, " In my father's 
house are many mansions ; if it were not so, I would 
have told you ; I go to prepare a place for you, that 
where I am, there ye may be also." Jesus is our ex- 
ample. Let us follow him through all these mansions 
of meekness, humility, love, kindness, charity — these 
are the works which he did, and which we also are 
called to do. 

Let us not presume that we have reached a point, 
beyond which there is no further progress in the 
knowledge of the truth or divine things. Jesus de- 
clared to the people of his time : " I have many things 
to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." It 
is an error into which many of the professors of re- 
ligion have fallen, that after they have subscribed to 
certain opinions, and adopted the doctrines and specu- 
lations of their creeds, to think they have arrived at 
a full knowledge of the truth ; and claiming that they 
only are right, are often ready to condemn, and would 
persecute even unto death, those who may differ from 
them in opinion. 

The Bible in the hands of these, instead of being 
an instrument to gather to the Church of Christ, or 
used to promote a religion that consists in " visiting 
the widow and the fatherless in their afflictions, and 



JOHN JACKSON. JQ5 

keeping ourselves unspotted from the world," is em- 
ployed to divide Christendom into sects and parties, 
and to make matters of religion a bone of contention. 
If religion was made to consist in the practice of 
righteousness, and not in speculations and opinions; 
in being good and doing good, and not in subscribing 
to any written creed, there could be none of those 
controversies about it, that separate man from his 
brother. It is to be hoped that the day will come, 
when the simple and beautiful religion of Jesus, will 
be carried more into practice, and be a restraint upon 
the conduct and actions of men, in the various call- 
ings of every day life. I have no faith whatever in 
confining the duties of religion to the observance of 
days and times. This is not sufficient to answer the 
purpose for which we profess to worship the Creator. 
We must carry out its principles in every day life, 
and prove that we are Christians, by fulfilling all life's 
duties. We must treat our fellow-beings as brethren 
— the children of a common father, created for the 
same great purpose, and bound to the same eternity. 
We should not consider that when these bodies shall 
return to the dust, that it is the end of our being, but 
we should contemplate life with those enlarged views, 
that embrace the future as well as the present state ; 
and recognizing in each other the birth of an immor- 
tal mind, endeavour to cultivate and secure a unity 
of spirit, that shall render us happier here, and con- 
tinue to be a blessing when time shall be no more. 

I would ask thee, my brother or my sister, to ex- 
amine these things for thyself. Go not after the cry 
of" I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, 



106 SERMONS BY 

or I am of Christ;" which is drawing thy attention 
to men and to books, rather than to the law of God 
written in thy heart. Read the volume of thy own 
experience. What is the sin that doth easily beset 
thee ? In what respect art thou most in danger of 
falling? What is thy greatest temptation? I ask 
thee, to watch at that point with increasing vigilance. 
The sin that doth easily beset thee may be removed, 
and watchfulness will be thy preservation in the hour 
of temptation and trial. The language of the beloved 
of God, is addressed to thee : u What I say unto one 
I say unto all, watch ! watch and pray, and that con- 
tinually, lest ye enter into temptation." 

It is by watchfulness and prayer that we are able 
to resist and overcome one temptation after another ; 
strength will be given us to regulate and subdue every 
propensity and passion, that may have controlled our 
better nature ; thus, day by day, we may gain the 
victory over the world, and be prepared to enjoy the 
true communion of Christ : " To him that overcometh 
will I give to sit with me on my throne, even as I 
have overcome and am set down with my father on 
his throne." 

This is the reward of our faithfulness to truth and 
duty ; as we are obedient to all the revealings of light 
and knowledge, w r e shall feel the reward of our stew- 
ardship to be peace, when in the solemn hour that is 
not far distant, this language shall be addressed to us, 
" Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die and not 
live." What is death to him that has overcome the 
world? Such a mind need not contemplate eternity 
with fear or gloom ; for if we can taste and handle of 



JOHN JACKSON. 107 

the " good word of life and the powers of the world 
to come," death will be disarmed of its sting — the 
grave will have no victory, and we shall look forward 
to the future world, with the blessed assurance of an 
inheritance in that city, whose inhabitants cannot 
say, " I am sick." 

Let me impress upon your minds the necessity of 
giving " all diligence to make our calling and election 
sure," by fulfilling the design of our being, in accom- 
plishing the work that has been given us to do. O, dear 
young people, there is nothing of so much importance 
to your present and future peace, and the highest in- 
terests that can concern you are involved in the 
labour, that you should shape your course of life, in 
agreement with the beautiful religion of Jesus. There 
is nothing that can bless you, or make life to you so 
much a scene of enjoyment, as to follow the example 
of him who said, " Suffer little children to come unto 
me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of 
heaven." Turn your thoughts to God; cultivate the love 
of virtue, purity and truth. Avoid the evils — the snares, 
and the vices that are around you : for this purpose, 
there is strength given to you, and if you make not use 
of the power that is thus bestowed upon you, the day 
may come when the dangers to which you are ex- 
posed will overcome you, and you may have to adopt 
the language that one did of old : " Oh that I were as 
in months past, as in the day when God preserved 
me ; when his candle shined upon my head, and when 
by his light I walked through darkness." 

I believe there are those present, whose minds 
have been visited with powerful convictions of truth ; 



108 



SERMONS BY 



and if these are obedient to these heavenly visions, 
they will become as lights to the world, and as in- 
struments in the Divine hand, in calling others to be- 
hold the beauty of the truth as it is in Jesus. I would 
say to these, leave the things that are behind ; " go 
on unto perfection ;" keep the eye single to the light 
of truth, and He who has called you by his power 
will not only be to you as the light of the morning, 
but he will be your meridian and your evening sun. 
It is not my mission to turn your attention to men, or 
to the opinions and speculations of men : " For ye 
are not come unto the mount that might be touched, 
and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and 
darkness and tempest, and to the sound of the trum- 
pet, and the voice of words ! But ye are called unto 
Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the 
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company 
of angels, to the general assembly and church of the 
first-born which are written in heaven, and to God 
the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made 
perfect." 

It is my concern to invite all, and especially my 
young friends, to a just and serious contemplation of 
the duties of life. Our happiness depends upon the 
fulfilment of these duties. Let us keep in view that 
pure and heavenly state, represented under the figure 
of the " holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from 
God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for 
her husband." The more we contemplate this state, 
and seek to make it ours, the more we shall be led to 
see and admire the wisdom, love, mercy and good- 
ness of our father in heaven ; and as we rightly con- 



JOHN JACKSON. 1QQ 

sider the relation in which we stand to him as the 
author of our being, and our dependence upon his 
guidance to lead us safely amidst all the temptations 
and trials incident to our present course of probation, 
the reflection and acknowledgement of the poet will 
be ours : 

" Thou art the source and centre of all minds, 
Their only point of rest, eternal Word ! 
From thee departing, they are lost, and rove 
At random, without honour, hope, or peace." 



SERMON IX. 

DELIVERED AT FRIENDS' MEETING, DARBY, NINTH MONTH 
22d, 1850. 

It appears from the testimony left upon record, 
that the great example and teacher we profess to fol- 
low, in the course of his ministry, called the attention 
of the people to the observance of a higher and purer 
morality than was recognized by the religion of that 
day. He proclaimed the truth of God, in opposi- 
tion to the prejudices and traditions in which they 
were educated, and called them away from the infe- 
rior morality of the law to the benign and heavenly 
influences of the gospel. This, I think, is evident, if 
we believe his precepts. " Ye have been told," he 
says, " by them of old time, thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bour and hate thine enemy." This was the rule by 
10 



HO SERMONS BY 

which the conduct of man towards his fellow-man 
was regulated. A morality that encouraged hatred, 
or any other disposition so entirely foreign to the 
loveliness of God, could not be passed unnoticed by 
the blessed Jesus; and hence, at the commencement 
of his mission of love and mercy, he called their 
attention to it, and added, " I say unto you, love your 
enemies; do good to them that hate you; bless them 
that curse you, and pray for them that persecute you 
and despitefully use you." He also gave them many 
other precepts in relation to human duty and conduct 
which might be referred to in illustration of the fact, 
that he preached a higher and purer doctrine than 
was practised by the Jews. These principles of 
action, laid down by Jesus, form the basis of true 
morality, and obedience to them the starting point in 
religion. 

The object of Christianity is unquestionably to era- 
dicate all evil from the society of men; to bring down 
heaven upon earth ; to lay the axe at the root of the 
tree of error, that it may destroy its fruits; to change 
the condition of man from the image of the earthly 
to the heavenly nature, and elevate him in the scale 
of spiritual progression in the knowledge of the attri- 
butes of God. 

In advancing this great doctrine of loving our ene- 
mies and doing good to them that hate us, Jesus gave 
a very clear and powerful argument in its favour; he 
had a reason for the hope that was in him, and it is 
worthy of our notice, that all doctrine pertaining to 
the welfare of the soul must be addressed to our 
rational perception, and contain in itself some recom- 



JOHN JACKSON. |j J 

mendation of its usefulness to man. When, there- 
fore, he urged them to love their enemies, and return 
good instead of evil for evil, he gave them this reason : 
"That you maybe the children of your Father which 
is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil 
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and 
on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, 
what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans 
the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, 
what do ye more than others? Do not even the pub- 
licans so ? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your 
Father which is in heaven is perfect." 

And here again we see how the teaching of Jesus 
pointed them to another sublime and wonderful truth, 
what their theology did not seem to have embraced, 
the great doctrine of the universal benevolence of 
God; harmonizing with his works, in the outward 
creation, where he hath opened his hand and sup- 
plieth the wants of every living creature, " and mak- 
eth his sun to shine on the evil and on the good, and 
causeth his rain to descend on the just and on the 
unjust." 

It is the crowning glory of the Christian religion, 
that it brings into view the infinite benevolence of 
the Deity; disarms him of those frailties and passions 
that belong only to man, and presents him to us, not 
in the light of a God of hatred and wrath and war, 
but a being of infinite perfection, purity and love. 
It was, therefore, a beautiful illustration of his attri- 
butes, which Jesus gave when he was enforcing the 
practice of those doctrines which would bring man 
into communion with his Maker. 



112 SERMONS BY 

Now, I cannot believe that Christianity requires 
less of us in the present day than it did when the 
blessed Jesus uttered these precepts. It is not a 
changeable and fluctuating religion — the kingdom of 
heaven is inaccessible now, as ever it has been, ex- 
cept by the door of obedience to Christ. " If any 
man will be my disciple, he must deny self, and take 
up his daily cross and follow me." 

How appropriate was this language of Jesus to the 
Jews. They were so full of their traditions, so de- 
voted to their religious notions and opinions, and so 
attached to their outward rituals, their sacrifices and 
offerings, that he said to them, ye must " leave all and 
follow me;" that their religion might not stand in 
their ceremonial worship, but in obedience to these 
great principles of truth, which would lead into works 
of righteousness. 

This language is also applicable to us. Our pro- 
fession of religion will be in vain if we do not be- 
come acquainted with these first principles of the 
gospel of Christ, and regulate our lives and conduct 
by them ; and, we all do know what is required of us 
— we all may become followers of Christ, and the 
children of our Father in heaven. 

Let us, then, take such a view of the religion of 
Jesus Christ, as will prompt us to the fulfilment of 
duty, and urge us onward in the pursuit of those 
riches " which moth and rust shall not corrupt, nor 
thieves break through and steal." Keep continually 
in view, that the great aim of the gospel, is to pro- 
nounce upon us the blessings of heaven — "Blessed 
are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth ; blessed 



JOHN JACKSON. U3 

are-the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy; blessed 
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God ; blessed 
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted ; 
blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called 
the children of God." 

As we are engaged in carrying out, in the daily 
practice of life, this high profession of Christianity, 
we shall find the truth of these sayings of Jesus con- 
firmed by our own experience ; by being faithful in 
the little, we shall be made rulers of more; we shall 
find that the u path of the just shineth brighter and 
brighter unto the perfect day," so that the nearer 
we approach the solemn termination of the present 
life, the clearer will be our view 7 s of the immortality 
of the soul, and the high enjoyment that is connected 
with the society of angelic spirits in the world to 
come. And while we are passing along through this 
present state of probation, let not our minds be so 
absorbed and occupied with the things that pertain 
only to this life, as to leave unexamined those great 
truths that bear such an important relation to our 
present and future well-being. There are riches that 
" moth and rust doth not corrupt, nor thieves break 
through and steal." These should be made the chief 
object of our pursuits. It is not enough that our 
admiration is excited in the contemplation of the 
goodness of God, as manifested in his outward crea- 
tion. If he maketh his sun to shine on the good and 
evil, and causeth his rain to descend on the just and 
unjust, it is to teach us that benevolence is displayed 
in his works, and if we would be like him it must 
also be manifest in ours. The outward creation with 

10* 



114 



SERMONS BY 



all its beauties not only convinces us that it is the 
production of infinite power and skill, but that ample 
provision has been made for the happiness of man 
while passing through this present probationary 
scene. All the intellectual gifts which our Creator 
has bestowed, find room for employment in a plan of 
creation so wisely arranged, and so wonderfully 
diversified. In the rational exercise of these gifts we 
may trace out and admire the operations of Deity 
in the natural world, and by continued obedience to 
the " manifestation of the Spirit, given to every man 
to profit withal," enjoy union and communion with 
him here and for ever. It is through the exercise of 
spiritual gifts already bestowed upon us, that we 
shall become "heirs of God and joint heirs with 
Christ." And it seems to me that the culture and 
right application of these, must ever be attended with 
the highest degree of enjoyment for an intelligent be- 
ing, and crowned with the greatest good of which 
we can ever partake. If these are rightly improved, 
we become worshippers of God in spirit and in truth. 
I am aware, however, that the views of worship 
which many entertain lead them to ceremonial acts 
of devotion — outward forms, divers washings, and a 
variety of external observances are combined to form 
what men have called systems of worship, in which 
it is presumed that assemblies of people can join and 
thereby bring glory to God. But it should be remem- 
bered, that as the attributes of Deity are infinite and 
perfect, there can be nothing added to their glory by 
any external act of ours. True worship is obedience 
to his will And there is no value in any form or in 



JOHN JACKSON. 



115 



any ceremony unless the heart is made better — God's 
blessing rests on the " pure in heart, the meek, the 
merciful, the peace-makes." It is with these that He 
owns an eternal fellowship. 

If the outward law given to the Jews, with all its 
external ceremonies — its temples, its priests, its al- 
tars and sacrifices, could not, as Paul declares — 
" make those who did the service perfect, as per- 
taining to the conscience," or was not adequate " to 
take away sin," how can we expect that any out- 
ward observances, or profession of religion, can 
make us perfect, or so far redeem us from sin as to 
bring us into union with God ? But if we know an 
inward purification of heart — a sin subdued — any 
turbulent passion conquered, or a victory obtained 
over the " lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and 
the pride of life," then indeed have we approached 
nearer to the Father of spirits, and our worship be- 
comes useful to us and acceptable to him. Let us, 
then, seek first the " kingdom of heaven," and fulfil 
the " righteousness thereof," and all things pertaining 
to our present and future well-being will be added 
unto us. We shall find that in the kingdom of hea- 
ven there is perfect discipline and order; the whole 
mind becomes subject to the law and cross of Christ. 
The discipline and exercise of the mind which is 
then established, leads us to cease to do evil, and try 
to do well; to cultivate the fruits of the spirit; love 
peace, meekness, gentleness, mercy, charity — these 
are among the trees of the garden of Eden, so beau- 
tifully mentioned in the figurative language of the 
Scriptures, which man was commanded to dress and 



HQ SERMONS BY 

to keep, and of the fruit of which he might freely 
partake and live. My brother or my sister, consult 
thy own experience, and know that the spirit of truth, 
which is calling thee into this kingdom, where the truth 
only reigns, is nothing short of a ray of Divine light, 
emanating from the Infinite Mind — the sun of right- 
eousness — for the blessed purpose of enlightening thy 
pathway and instructing thy understanding in the 
way in which thou should go. Obey its voice and 
thy soul shall live. It shows to thee with as much 
clearness as ever the light of the sun in the outward 
firmament has enabled thee to behold visible things, 
that the reward of obedience is peace and joy, and 
the consequence of transgression, remorse and an- 
guish of spirit. 

While Christianity unfolds to our view the uni- 
versal benevolence of our Father in heaven, and pro- 
nounces the blessing upon the meek, the merciful, the 
pure in heart, the peace-makers; it also banishes from 
the minds of men those views of the origin of evil 
which have so much annoyed the happiness of the 
human family, and which are still embodied in many 
of the systems of religious belief to which the people 
are called. 

I know that it is asserted by many, that in conse- 
quence of the transgression of our first parents, we 
are all sinners in the Divine sight; and they cling to 
the doctrine of human depravity with as much tena- 
city as they entertain a hope for the salvation of the 
soul. These baneful influences are ascribed to the 
temptation of some great evil spirit, separate and dis- 
tinct from man, whose business, according to their 



JOHN JACKSON. \ J 7 

creed, seems to be, to overthrow the kingdom of 
heaven, and defeat the benevolent purposes of God. 
If such a being exist, whence had he an origin 1 and 
by whom was he endowed with such great power ? 
He could not have been created, for all that God 
made was good ; or, if originally created good, he 
fell by transgression, and became the enemy of the 
Creator, it is a terrible delusion to suppose that he 
would be clothed with the powers that are ascribed 
to him as a reward for his wickedness. If self-ex- 
istent, then there is more than one eternal Being. 

But, whence cometh evil, and where hath sin its 
origin'? The Apostle James hath illustrated this sub- 
ject in a very plain manner — " Let no man say when 
he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot 
be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. 
But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of 
his own lust and enticed ; for lust, when it is con- 
ceived, bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished, 
bringeth forth death." Here we see that the origin 
of evil in us, is not the result of any human depravity 
over which we have no control, but begins when we 
yield to any temptation, or indulgence, which we 
know to be inconsistent with the Divine will. 

Jesus never taught the doctrine of original depra- 
vity. His language, " Suffer little children to come 
unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the king- 
dom of heaven," is too plain to admit of but the one 
meaning. It confirms the testimony of Scripture, 
which says, " The son shall not bear the iniquity of 
the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of 
the son." And again ; " Thou hast been in Eden, the 



118 SERMONS BY 

garden of God ; every precious stone was thy cover- 
ing, thou was perfect in all thy ways, from the day 
in which thou wast created, till iniquity was found in 
thee." 

The pure and heavenly doctrines of Jesus, show us 
that the author of our being is a God of love ; that jus- 
tice and mercy and truth are his attributes, and that he 
is continually disposed to bless his dependent chil- 
dren. He has planned the universe for the enjoy- 
ment of his creatures, and created intelligent man, 
with a view to his happiness here and for ever. This 
notion of original sin is inconsistent with the attri- 
butes of justice and mercy which belong to the 
Deity; and a more irrational and absurd opinion 
cannot be promulgated, than that which ascribes our 
temptations and sins to the influence of such a being 
possessing the power to oppose the will of God, and 
perpetually to torment his rational creation. This 
great imaginary devil, which a gloomy theology has 
employed to frighten people into religion, through 
fear of the terrible torments he has power to inflict 
in the world to come, is cast out by the gospel, and 
we are taught, that our greatest enemies are those of 
our own house. Instead of looking without us for 
an imaginary tempter or evil spirit, we should watch 
over our own thoughts, actions, tempers and dispo- 
sitions, lest they gain the ascendency over our better 
feelings, and make us the servants of sin. Instead of 
being driven into religion through fear, we should 
seek righteousness for righteousness' sake; we should 
love God because he is lovely; we should imitate and 



JOHN JACKSON. j|f) 

practice the virtues of Christ, because they lead to 
permanent and eternal peace. 

These views have been presented to my mind, and 
I have offered them for our examination. Let us not 
be so attached to preconceived opinions, to theories 
or systems of faith, to creeds or speculations of men, 
as to be unwilling to examine them and judge for 
ourselves. Remember that the truth cannot be in- 
jured by the most rigid investigation, and whatever 
fails to stand this test is unworthy of our regard. 
My young friends, these are subjects that concern 
you, and I ask you to enter the field of inquiry in 
search of truth ; the temptations of the future will test 
the strength of your allegiance to virtue; you will 
need a guide to direct your steps ; examine into the 
nature of the gospel as it is revealed to your own 
minds, and it will direct you in the way in which 
you should go. If that gospel requires you to for- 
sake the sin that doth so easily beset you, to make a 
sacrifice of any selfish spirit, disposition, or temper, 
it is because the indulgence of these things will be 
your ruin, and whatever delight you may take in 
them now, the end will prove to be " vanity and 
vexation of spirit." If it requires you to love your 
enemies; to do good to them that hate you, and pray 
for them that despitefully use you ; bear in mind that 
it designs thereby to make you the children of our 
Father in heaven ; if it asks you to be meek, to be 
merciful, to be pure in heart, to be peace-makers, it 
is, that you may enjoy all the blessings that emanate 
from God, the infinite fountain of all good, and extend 
throughout his spiritual creation, uniting his children 



120 SERMONS BY JOHN JACKSON. 

together here by ties that death cannot sever, and 
preparing them for the society of the just made per- 
fect, when these outward temples shall moulder in 
the dust, and the spirit return to the bosom of its 
Author. 



THE END. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

022 216 779 6 



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